Anya Khachatryan “Villagers know me as their children’s teacher”

WomenNet.am hold an Interview with Anya Khachatryan, who is a candidate for council of elders in Getahovit community of Tavush province.

Anya Khachatryan has been engaged in pedagogical activity for 35 years and works as a teacher of Armenian Language and Literature at Getahovit General School. She lives with two sons  – the older son is currently studying at the Department of Sport Journalism of the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and the younger one  – at the Faculty of Humanities at the Yerevan State University in Ijevan, English faculty.

Anya’s daily life is abundant. Most of the day is devoted to teaching and classroom, so it is almost impossible to deal with farming and 1500 meters of household items, as she checks student papers at home and makes programs to make the lessons more interesting and meaningful.

In an interview with us, Anya Khachatryan touched upon the “Teacher’s Code of Conduct”, which recently became a subject of public discussion, saying that it is not acceptable for her generation teachers, even in terms of offensive, particularly corruption-related provisions and teacher’s clothing. “In rural schools, I rule out corruption as it relates to dressing, people of my age know about proper dressing, and the young people also attend school in appropriate clothing. The teacher works at school for seven hours, then she is engaged in household business, land work, cattle breeding, she is a mother and a housewife, and you see the amount of her remuneration, “she says.

• I am well aware of the work of the council. If I am elected, I will be the only female Council of Elders, and the other candidates are young men. The time will show how well my ideas and programs will be adopted by other members of the council. The villagers know me as their children’s teacher, so I am aware of the community’s social problems. There is no workplace in Getahovit, it’s also a problem; women are mainly engaged in household activities, sometimes they care for their families by selling berries, herbs and mushrooms collected from nearby forests, and some work in seasonal greenhouses in nearby villages, “says Anya Khachatryan.

Anya Khachatryan, who is interested in women’s involvement in politics in recent years, is convinced that their example has become “infectious” among the women living in the communities, although their region is not particularly active at the local elections.

Full text in Armenian