“I am an optimistic person and I have a great sense of humor which prevents me from being discouraged.”

I met Karine Grigoryan, president of “Agate” NGO during a global conference organized by the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) a few years ago. She was very excited to see so many women with disabilities among the participants, which is rare at meetings of this scale. My conversation with Karine was about the idea of an “equal society for all”, the realization of which is connected to her own personal story.

“I was trained as an economist, and the strongest stimulus for my education and success was my family. They are my greatest luck. Of course I had moments of hopelessness. Since the day of my birth I have faced challenges, barriers and injustice. Everything would have been much harder if I didn’t have my family, relatives and friends on my side. They always believed in my strength, and trusted and encouraged me. I am thankful to them all. Because of them I am an optimistic person and I have a great sense of humor which prevents me from being discouraged,” Karine said.

Karine never talks about her health issues and she communicates with people in a way that makes them forget to ask about her health.

“Although I had fine knowledge and background on economics, for some reason I couldn’t find a job. Perhaps it was because of my disability. I like to be active and take initiative for myself, so I decided to start voluntary work. That initiative became a stimulus for my future civic activity. I spent eight years volunteering as an English language teacher and translator. There were several organizations with persons with disability in Gyumri but none of them were promoting women’s issues. So I decided to start the center for women with special needs. We decided to name it “Agate” because the beneficiary girls and women reminded us of the precious stone called Agate. They gave their strength, willpower and persistence to the organization and they all had a special beauty like the agate stone. So our center is an interesting crystal, just like agate. My dream is to improve the quality of life for women and girls with disabilities and to empower them to fight for their future.”

As per Karine’s observations, there are currently about 81,900 women and girls with disabilities registered in Armenia who are considered to be the most vulnerable group of our society.

“We have observed many cases where the treatment of boys and girls is different. We have cases where the parents keep the daughter with a disability at home. Recent studies in Armenia revealed that the number of girls with disabilities who are not in the education system is much higher compared to the number of boys. In terms of employment men are more confident and apply for physical or intellectual employment, while women are more reserved and are denied opportunities by society. Women are more ashamed about their disability so they can’t find employment. Our society is not yet ready or able to perceive everyone equally. It is not ready to access disabled women’s and girls’ potential or to understand the richness of spiritual and intellectual worlds. Sometimes assumptions and perceptions are made based on a person’s physical condition rather than their personality. The discouragement and negativity from society immobilize women and girls. They don’t fight for their own rights and can’t find their place in life. Fortunately, positive changes are occurring in Armenia today and there are brave young women with disabilities who are becoming leaders to protect their own and others’ rights and interests.”

It is worth mentioning that “Agate” was among the first to declare that women with disabilities have a right to live fully and to become mothers.

“In 2013 our organization started to implement programs to promote the realization of reproductive rights of women and girls with disabilities in Armenia. To be honest we heard diverse responses to the program and we have even been criticized for preaching and promoting immorality in Armenia. But that did not discourage us, we believed in the idea and during talks with our beneficiaries we understood how important our program was at this time. Some of the beneficiaries had successful marriages. Among them was Arshaluis and Mesrop’s marriage. Both have hearing impairments, and now they have two children with no hearing or health problems. Their children communicate in sign language and verbally.

Another achievement by Agate was the initiative for an inclusive playground which has been supported by Gyumri municipality. The municipality allocated space for the playground and the construction works are almost finished…

Full text in Armenian