Women Cultural-Humanitarian Fund Sukhumi

Kutaisi, Georgia

As in many civil conflicts, much of the violence of the 1992 Georgian-Abkhazian struggle targeted women. Of 5,000 deaths in Abkhazia, 2,000 were women and children. Rape was systematically used as a weapon of terror and ethnic destruction.

Although Abkhazia declared its independence in 1994, the region remains embattled as Russia and Georgia fight for control. More than half of the 300,000 displaced people are women. Yet in the aftermath of conflict, violence against women rarely stops. Instead it shifts from the community to the home, where it remains secret.

But the women of Sukhumi are breaking the silence. Formed in 1995 by five women forcefully displaced from Abkhazia, Sukhumi uses collective power to improve the lives of women, whether or not they are refugees. Sukhumi conducted an educational campaign aimed at youth, academics, law enforcement, local authorities and the media. The successful campaign tripled the number of people who came to understand violence against women as a problem.

Sukhumi focuses on young women because it believes that they are the key to the future of women's rights. The group believes that, "violations of women's rights, especially in the countries of the southern Caucasus, can't be overcome without the participation of youth."

The group's education center for girls from 16 to 25 includes classes on women's rights, English and computer skills. Of the 100 girls who enjoy the trainings, five will be selected to receive small grants to implement projects they design.

Main Issues:
Expanding Civic and Political Participation
Violence Against Women Economic Independence

Grants Received:
2006    $20,000
2004    $8,000
2003    $1,200
2002    $4,000