Nino Bolkwadze

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Nino Bolkwadse (2017)

Nino Bolkwadze ( Georgian ნინო ბოლქვაძე ; * 1977 ) is a Georgian lawyer and LGBT activist.

Life

Bolkvadze grew up in Georgia. Already in her youth she knew she was a lesbian , but under pressure from her family and society, at the age of 16 she married a man ten years older than her. The couple had two daughters and stayed together for over ten years before Bolkwadze finally separated and from then on raised the children alone. In 2012 she had her first private coming-out , in 2015 she came out in a talk show on Georgian television in front of the whole nation. As a result, there was a break with some family members. Today Bolkwadze has a life partner and is back in partial contact with her family.

Career

Nino Bolkwadse (2017)

As a lawyer, Bolkwadse specializes in discrimination and violence against minorities and works for various NGOs , including Identoba and The Equality Movement. She represents clients in court, conducts studies on the living situation of LGBT people and acts as an expert on LGBT rights and anti-discrimination in Georgia. She faces great challenges in her work. In a 2014 study, Georgia was ranked as one of the most homophobic countries in the world, with the influence of the Georgian Orthodox Church being a major factor.

In addition to her professional activity as a lawyer, Bolkwadze helps organize various events. In 2013, for example, she took part in a rally on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia , which was violently suppressed by numerically superior counter-demonstrators. Several demonstrators and police officers had to be treated in the hospital, the rest were able to flee.

In the following years Bolkwadze took part in many other campaigns. In 2019 she organized the first Gay Pride event in Georgia with others . The originally planned parade had to be canceled due to security concerns. Nevertheless, on July 8, 2019, around two dozen demonstrators gathered for a demonstration in front of the Interior Ministry.

Bolkwadze also appears as an expert in the media. For example, she commented on the death of Lika, a Georgian trans woman who, despite her AIDS illness, had not received any medical treatment and sharply criticized the authorities.

Political career

In 2017, Bolkvadze became the first openly gay person to run for political office in Georgia. She stood for the small opposition party of the Republicans in the election of the Tbilisi City Council . Her subjects included rights for single mothers, protective shelters for people from the LGBT spectrum and the consistent punishment and punishment of hate crime and violence against minorities.

Ultimately, Bolkwadze was not elected to the city council. However, your candidacy is considered a milestone in the emancipation of LGBT people in Georgia.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Georgia's first openly gay politician tests homophobia in Caucasus In: Reuters , by Umberto Bachhi, October 19, 2017, accessed on May 12, 2020.
  2. ↑ Georgia prepares for first LGBT pride amid threats of violence In: The Guardian , by Andrew Roth, June 16, 2019, accessed May 12, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Levan Vasadze is obviously a Russian project" - NGO Representatives demand to start investigation In: All Media , 17th July 2019, accessed May 12, 2020.
  4. ↑ a b A broken Oath In: Georgia Today , by Shawn Wayne, July 23, 2018, accessed May 12, 2020.
  5. ↑ National report on the violation of human rights of gay men, other MSM and trans people, in particular right to health in Georgia 2017 2017, accessed May 12, 2020.
  6. ↑ Crowd Led by Priests Attacks Gay Rights Marchers in Georgia In: The New York Times , by Andrew Roth, May 17, 2013, accessed May 12, 2020.
  7. ↑ Small LGBT Pride Rally Held In Tbilisi In: Radio Free Europe - Radio Liberty , July 8, 2019, accessed on May 12, 2020.
  8. ↑ a b ' No Consideration': Death Of Transgender Woman In Georgia Prompts Health-Care Outcry From Activists In: Radio Free Europe - Radio Liberty , July 22, 2018, accessed May 12, 2020.
  9. ↑ Georgian Republicans Nominate Country's First Openly Gay Candidate In: Voa News , by Nana Sajaia, October 4, 2017, accessed on May 12, 2020.
  10. ↑ Gay life in Georgia: interview with Giorgi Abashidze from Tbilisi In: Nomadic Boys , by Stefan Arestis, February 7, 2020, accessed on May 12, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Bolkwadze, Nino
ALTERNATIVE NAMES ბოლქვაძე, ნინო (Georgian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Georgian lawyer and LGBT activist
DATE OF BIRTH 1977