The Public Defender of Georgia is echoing the media reports of November 13, 2017, about the meeting held between Temur Abazov, the newly elected Mayor of Marneuli, and the population of the village of Kachagani, which was attended only by men. Some participants of the meeting said their spouses were not allowed to come to the center of the village, while others named cooking as the reason for women’s absence at the meeting. The Mayor of Marneuli also agreed with them, saying that "it was noon and women were probably cooking for their spouses."

The Public Defender considers that there are many challenges in terms of women's equality in the country and that the most important issue is women's participation in social and political life. Taking into consideration this, similar attitude of the public or officials strengthens discriminatory stereotypes about the role of women and men, and emphasizes men's dominant position in public life. This creates a threat that women will be more often discriminated on grounds of their sex in the future. In addition, it is especially disturbing when a mayor, who has the obligation to create equal environment, supports and encourages gender discriminatory practice.

Taking into consideration the above mentioned, the Public Defender urges the Mayor of Marneuli to refrain from making sexists statements in the future and promote gender equality in the region.