WINCHESTER, Mass.—On Dec. 18, the Armenian International Women’s Assocation (AIWA) New England affiliate hosted a reception at the Winchester home of Eva Medzorian. Speaking on the subject of domestic violence was Heghine Mkrtchyan, the founder and president of AJAKITS, a benevolent organization that helps victims of domestic violence. Headquartered in Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city, AJAKITS has been operating in Gyumri since 1995, offering valuable assistance in the city’s women’s center and shelter.
Medzorian, with fellow AIWA founder Olga Proudian, Board member Alisa Stepanian, and guests Anahid Mardiros, Jack Medzorian, and David and Gayane Seppelin, listened to Mkrtchyan describe AJAKITS’s participation in the 16-day Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign 2011 for Women’s Rights, organized by the Center for Global Leadership in Armenia in November 2011. The slogan of the campaign was “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World.” AJAKITS distributed 5,000 flyers across the region and informed the residents in all 119 communities of the Shirak marz (region) about domestic violence and family health issues.
“The women’s situation is terrible, especially in the Shirak marz where the economy is very bad, most men don’t have jobs, and life is hard. Traditions are strong in the Shirak marz. Women’s roles are not respected and they accept their less-than-equal status. They have low self-esteem. It is very sad,” Mkrtchyan said.
AJAKITS, which means “Helping Hands” in English, was the first of its kind non-governmental organization in Armenia to address domestic violence, with programs that help raise self-esteem and self-confidence; the establishment of a 24-7 telephone hotline in 1998; and the first battered women’s shelter run by volunteers.
AIWA has been funding the shelter for seven years. “Thank God for AIWA and all the help they have given the women and children of domestic violence victims in Gyumri and its villages over these many years,” said Mkrtchyan. “I am happy to finally see now that our advocacy efforts are starting to paying off, as the government of Armenia is now considering language for a new law covering domestic violence and gender abuse. It seems that now, more than ever, they are alarmed about the number of domestic violence and molestations taking place.”
To support AJAKITS’s programs, e-mail Medzorian at evamedzorian@gmail.com.
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