Promoting IDPs' and Women's Voices in Post-Conflict Georgia

IDPs’ ongoing fight for survival, as noted by one IDP woman, 473 saps the time and energy of many,depleting resources that in different circumstances could be channeled into civic action. An INGOrepresentatives echoed this perspective, stating that for these reasons, IDPs “care less about thedecisions made by the state authorities.” 474 Faced with a lack of tangible, immediate necessities, takingthe time to be involved in comparatively abstract political processes is simply not a practical option.In the case of women, they face a time burden that serves as a key socioeconomic factor influencingtheir participation. Many of them work to provide for their families, in addition to taking care of thehouse and the children. As a result, they have few hours left in the day for other activities. Women’sextensive responsibilities for their families therefore serve as an additional barrier to their participationand influence over decision-making processes, in comparison with men. The fact that NGOs providestable jobs for many women so that they can provide for their families, in contrast with the volatility andrisk involved in engaging in politics, 475 could also explain why IDP women —and women in general— areso much better represented in the NGO sector rather than in politics. At the same time, the economictransition after the fall of Communism caused a major decline in the participation of women on thelabor market. Large differentials between the wages paid to women and men, and the declining accesswomen have to jobs, have coincided with a rising burden for women at home, due to shrinking socialsafety nets and child care provisions. 476It is important to note that this dimension of poverty has a similar effect on the entirety of the Georgianpopulation struggling to make ends meet. 477 However, the loss and acute vulnerability that many IDPshave experienced as a result of their displacement may make some IDPs more sensitive to thepsychological impacts of poverty. In this sense, the ongoing symptoms of poverty exacerbate theunderlying trauma of displacement. Tamar Tchelidze, former Deputy Minister of Economy andSustainable Development who was displaced from Abkhazia, explained:“[When you are an IDP], you don’t have a roof, you need to get a home, you need to get ajob, and you need basics that everyone has... When you lose these things in such a painfulmanner, this kind of traumatic experience forces you to think about these things muchmore than other people would.” 478Her story reinforces the connection between socioeconomic and psychosocial factors influencing IDPs’experiences, which in turn affect their opportunities for participation.Poverty and the resulting reliance on the government for economic support also have fed the“dependency syndrome” that characterizes some members of the IDP community. IDPs may be less473 IDP woman. Personal interview. 15 March 2012.474 Chabrava, Eliso (Danish Refugee Council). Personal interview. 22 March 2012.475 Teona Kupunia, Personal Interview.476 UNDP. Enhancing Women’s Political Participation. Bratislava, 2009. 15.477 Marina Tabukashvili, Personal interview.478 Tamar Tchelidze, Personal Interview.92