“We now live not in a border village, but in a border guard village.” Narine Jhangiryan

The interlocutor of WomenNet.am is 54-year-old Narine Jhangiryan, who is a member of the Tegh community council of Syunik region. The situation today is tense, they are ready to resist the provocations of Azerbaijan at any moment, the volunteers and the military are watching so that the enemy does not advance a single centimeter.

According to Narine Jhangiryan, in the last 1-1.5 years, the problems and worries in the border area have already increased due to the pandemic. And although the pandemic and current border problems are not only in the domain of the local self-government, the views and questions of the residents are first of all addressed to the staff of the community and the council of elders.

According to her, the most important issue of concern to the villagers on the spot is the resolution of private lands and border tensions that are currently under Azerbaijani control.

Despite the problems, no one has emigrated from the village. On the contrary, in recent months, 5 families from Artsakh have settled on the spot.

In about two months, it will be five years since the last local council was convened. Ahead of the upcoming local elections, we recall with Narine Jhangiryan how three women candidates for the Council of Elders overcame the competition at the same time as the results of the local elections held in the fall of 2016, setting a positive precedent for other communities.

Narine Jhangiryan considers the smiles of the residents to be the most important achievement of her 5 years in the Council of Elders.

According to her, listening to the problems and concerns of the residents, empathizing with them and supporting them, especially for female residents, often becomes a preferred official.

The number of women council members in the communities of Syunik region is very small. According to Narine Jhangiryan, it is conditioned by several circumstances.

 The local elections expected in the autumn will be held in the enlarged area by the proportional system, and the participation of women will be regulated by the current gender quota. Despite her 5 years of experience, Narine Jhangiryan does not intend to run in the upcoming local elections.

– Let younger women run. I want our youth to be involved in all that. We tried, we competed, we passed. Maybe because of that, more young women will run in this election. “We have wonderful, capable women in the community, in the region and in the country,” she said, emphasizing that she sends the same message to strong women she meets on every occasion. “Women think differently, men think differently.” The state and local government system needs women a lot. Let men gradually learn that women should be in government, and women should have the opportunity to have a say.

Full text in Armenian