USAID empowers women and girls to participate fully in Georgia’s democratic, social, and economic development.  Recognizing that the language we use affects the way we think and impacts how we treat women, the USAID Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia (PROLoG) program partnered with the Government of Georgia’s Human Rights Council to call on Georgia’s youth to “Change Oppressive Sayings Regarding Women.”

During Women’s History Month, USAID’s PROLoG partnered with the Human Rights Council to invite participants to reconsider common sayings in the Georgian language that are oppressive, humiliating, or degrading toward women.  Participants had the opportunity to propose new ideas for how to talk about women, emphasizing empowerment and equality.  PROLoG received 299 submissions during the first half of March, with representatives of the program and of the Human Rights Council selecting three of the most impactful. 

The first-place winner, 14-year-old Nanuka Karukhnishvili, reinterpreted the traditional Georgian saying: “It’s easier to stop the rain than a single woman,” as “It’s easier to stop the rain, than a woman who is right.” 

Ana Baiadze, a 22-year-old university student, reinterpreted “The fool thinks that a quarrel between a wife and a husband is real,” as “The fool thinks that a quarrel between a wife and a husband is a family matter.” 

Goga Khatiashvili, a Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) employee, reinterpreted “A woman–shy, a man–genuine, both are valuable for the country,” as “A woman equal and a man equal are both equal for a country.”