Alesya Bejanyan: “Now I look at our capital with my little boy’s eyes”

Alesya Bejanyan, the first woman candidate in the ARF Dashnaktsutyun election list, is in the fourth place in the Yerevan Council of Elders’ extraordinary elections. She joined the ARF from 2003 and was in the same place as the party’s 2013 municipal elections. She is a member of the Central Board of the Armenian Relief Society, works as a Public Relations Officer of SME DNC of Armenia. In a conversation with WomenNet.am she emphasizes that today the city’s problems are not only seen as by a female politician, but also by a young mother. From here, and the first question, how do you distinguish problems which require primary solution as a candidate for the council of elders?

– Frankly speaking, now I look at our capital with my little boy’s eyes. Yerevan should become one of the best places to grow and live, where walking can be comfortable, playgrounds are refurbished; parks and children’s play yards become more attractive. I want our capital to be one of the best in the world where our children will get the best education.

– And to what extent is Yerevan comfortable for mothers with small children? In many streets, walking with a child in a wheelchair turns into a tragedy, or there are no sidewalks, narrow or too slippery…

– I’ve experienced this every time I go for a walk. There are few ramps, which also paralyze people with disabilities. Besides, there are very few places of walking, playgrounds and parks in the smaller center or other administrative districts. We plan to establish new parks, and we will also offer Hrazdan gorge, Victory Park and its adjacent area as an environmental zone. The Dalma Garden, the Yerevan Lake and its surrounding area should be turned into a city-wide public leisure, with green zones.

– How do you think, what face and slogan should   2800-year-old Yerevan have?

– I would choose the slogan “The Capital of All Armenians”. For every Armenian living in the world, its capital city must be Yerevan. Our 2800-year-old capital must open a new page in its history. Today, Yerevan is such a city with its good and bad sides, its problems.

Full text in Armenian