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Mary Matosian

Mary Matosian

A trip to Armenia in 1981 changed Mary Matosian’s life. She rediscovered her ancestral roots and dedicated herself to extensive work in the Armenian communities of New York and Paris before moving to Armenia in 1990. During the 1990s, she put her methodical research and organizational skills to work as director of “Aznavour pour Armenie,” implementing grants from the European Union’s Humanitarian Commission. She joined the Tufenkian Foundation in 2006 and serves as country director, splitting her time between New York, Armenia and Karabagh.

17 Comments

  1. As long as Armenia keeps following a backwards Abrahamic desert religion from Israel things won’t change. The country was much better off under paganism, but even atheism would be an improvement.

    • So many blunders in one short comment.

      First, the article is about realities and challenges that surround today’s Armenian women. What does “desert religion” have to do with this?

      Second, to these “backwards” Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—several billions of advanced modern people adhere.

      Third, if by desert the homeland of Abraham is meant, then it is a baloney. Abraham’s native place was in the Mesopotamian city of Ur. If by desert the homeland of Jesus Christ was meant, then it is another baloney. Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem, grew in the city of Nazareth, and preached in the city of Jerusalem.

      Fourth, at the time Jesus preached and Christianity emerged as religion, there was no state of Israel.

      Fifth, in what sense Armenia was “much better off” under paganism? What are the criteria? We view our history—from ancient times to modernity–as one indivisible process. Whether Paganism, Zoroastrianism or Christianity, it is a common history of ONE Armenian people. Whether under Paganism, Zoroastrianism or Christianity, there were—as with any other nation—ups and downs, successes and failures, victories and defeats.

      Sixth, atheism Armenia tried already during the Soviet period. It didn’t work. Once the Soviet Union was dismantled, the Christian faith re-arose in the RoA with renewed vigor.

  2. Well said, well expressed. Women and girls comprise over 50 percent of the world population and yet they represent less than 1/5th of governing positions leaving pertinent decision making related to the most essential of society’s progress to men. How can there be a democracy if Women’s voices are not heard and counted? How can a man, whether clergy or lay, or woman for that matter, stand up with a clear conscience and speak of the graces of a woman and ignore the oppression on their doorsteps. …oppression that affect their mothers, their wives, their daughters, their sons, the future of their country’s well being. STEP IT UP. http://www.thisihumblyspeak.com.

  3. Very well said. You both have your work cut out for you. Too many women in Armenia have confessed that they would rather be physically abused than not be married or be divorced. The damaged roots of this problem run very deep and mothers pass down these warped views to their daughters. So it’s not just the men who are perpetuating the cycle. The women need a major awakening. Keep up the fight.

  4. Obviously the ladies are doing a good job. The question is! Why is it that people who move to Armenia sometimes forget that like all other countries, Armenia has it share of major problems. Complain and provoke, or continue to help the disadvantaged men, women, and children, with employment AND educaton, until at some point they themselves are able to make policy decisions and much needed improvements for Armenia/Artsakh. Funding their needs themselves in the process.

  5. It’s time that Armenia advance to the 21st Century. By diminishing women, the country is depriving itself of roughly half of its collective brain-power. Why would a country want to utilize only half of its resources, i.e., intelligence? Wouldn’t it promote economic growth if everyone were allowed to flourish and contribute?

  6. Maro Matosian’s Women’s Resource Center “receives support from the Open Society Foundation-Armenia, a part of the Soros foundations network.” (Source: http://www.eurasianet.org).

    Soros as in George Soros.

    • Noted also is their poster that says: “Women’s’ Rights Day”. Whereas, in reality, it is International Women’s’ Day.

  7. Gender inequality is foreign to Armenian culture. Armenian culture and religion put woman on the same pedestal with man since the beginning of our history. Armenia should restore our old values and Armenians must be proud of it.

  8. The SAME EXACT ARTICLE is written about women in Armenia every year. Literally, for the last 20 years I’ve been reading this exact article every year.

    It’s very simple – Armenian women will join the modern world only when they decide that a) they will stand up to the Armenian Church, which, as in other things, has been extremtly destructive to Armenian women, and b) realize that criticizing the Armenian culture of machismo is not being “anti-national”. These things haven’t happened for the past 20 years, and it looks like they won’t happen anytime soon either.

    Stop writing these repetitive articles and do something about it.

  9. Thank you Avery for informing who owns Womens Resource Center. Beware of G. Soros and his Foundations conditional support anywhere! What about The Olive Tree group?

  10. Dear Mary and Ani,
    Hello. Thank you for your writing about Armenian women in Armenia. I would like to alert readers of the Armenian Weekly to the small article in The California Courier that to me says it all:
    “FATHER OF FIVE FOUND DEAD OF APPARENT SUICIDE IN GYUMRI
    GYUMRI (Express.am) – A Gyumri man, head of a poverty-stricken family living in ramshackle building in the second largest city of Armenia, reportedly committed suicide last week, leaving behind his wife and five children, Shirak Centre NGO said in a statement February 28.
    The man, who was found hanged in a barn in a nearby village, had just returned home from Russia after a fruitless attempt to find a job abroad, the organization reported.”
    I’M WITH HAGOP. I AM SICK OF WHAT IS GOING ON IN ARMENIA AS MUCH AS I SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS THERE WHO HELP OUR BRETHREN. ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT, DO SOMETHING FOR YOUR PEOPLE. PAVEH! ENOUGH!
    Ellen Sarkisian Chesnut

  11. There are bad apples everywhere. But overall Armenia is a country that respects women. Actually, the plight of women in the Western world is much worst. At least Armenian women don’t have a problem with drugs, homelessness, alcohol and rape. So, as you can see there is a thing called Western style-propaganda (using activists to foment hysteria in nations targeted by Western powers) and there is a thing called reality. The following article reflects the reality in Armenia –

    Armenia in Top 10 Countries for female representation in senior positions: http://www.aypoupen.com/4723/armenia-in-top-10-countries-for-female-representation-in-senior-positions/

  12. An excellent post. The sad part is that after Armenia has been voted as the most beautiful women of the world. The world looks at Armenian women as just a pretty face and that overshadows the issues that are ever present. We have started a campaign with this regard: “Armenian Women – Not just a pretty face”

  13. women’s should be treated with respect and should carry same value as man in the society. we have to do it to create healthy environment in Armenia

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