Ashkhen Hovhannisyan. “Serving the homeland is the duty of every citizen, man or woman”

“Who says a woman is weak, that she is powerless and helpless? Is the weak and powerless able to raise a child to defend the nation, whether it is a boy or a girl?

Ashkhen Hovhannisyan studied at the Faculty of Management of the French University of Armenia, but later preferred the profession of programmer. Bold and confident in temperament, happy and caring in character, Ashkhen believes that a person should be strong both physically and mentally.

There were four children in the family, two boys and two girls. An engineer by profession, the father raised his four children equally, strong, agile and unbreakable. Instead of playing with dolls, the sisters did not give in to the physical training of their brothers. Later, Ashkhen was involved in sports – athletics, boxing, participated in tournaments, recorded victories. Along with her sports career, she also responded to the announcement of the “Art of Survival” (AOS) organization, founded in 2014 on the initiative of spy Vova Vardanov. The volunteers were encouraged to teach skills and knowledge that would help them survive in any situation.

AOS rallies became regular, especially after the four-day war in 2016, and more and more volunteers joined its ranks. The purpose of the structure was for every citizen to master the art of martial arts, to be able to express himself with the maximum amount of power in a state of emergency. From that moment on, the AOS trainings became military-patriotic. Ashkhen’s participation in the four-day war was impossible though very desirable, as the Armenian girls ‘boxing team was preparing for the girls’ world championship to be held in Astana on May 15-28.

At AOS, she met her future husband, Ishkhan Gevorgyan. Their wedding took place in 2018 on the top of Mount Masis.

During my years at AOS, I set an example for many, those who were skeptical of their own strength, I was able to encourage and involve in the organization. 30-40% of the volunteers in AOS are women and girls, and many of them provided medical care to the wounded on the battlefield. And whether I could not go to the front, I decided to take part in the common cause in another way – by calling, even organizing from abroad, I was sending to Artsakh everything that the soldiers fighting on the front needed.

Ashkhen is sure that after a short time she will take part in OMA trainings with her previous activity. Even today, her husband’s favorite pastime is hiking in the mountains over the weekend.

At the end of the conversation with WomenNet.am, Ashkhen Hovhannisyan mentioned that she will bring up her children in the same spirit as she was brought up. According to her, girls should serve in the Armenian army together with boys, and should have excellent command of martial arts, as in the Israeli army. In that case, we will have an even stronger army.

Full text in Armenian