Women Who Don't Exist

Bacho Meburishvili -watergunz -Creative Director Director Toy Toydze -watergunz -Copywriter Copywriter Anutsa Zholzholiani -Freelancer Copywriter -Copywriter Nini Dvalishvili -watergunz -Account Manager Project Manager Keto Tsaava -watergunz -Digital Head Digital Head Ninutsa Dzneladze -watergunz -Digital Strategist Digital Strategist Mariam Chachua -watergunz -Social Media Manager Social Media Manager Ana Tavartkiladze -watergunz -Art Director Art Director Saba Chabakauri -watergunz -Designer Designer Mariam Khidirbegishvili -watergunz -Account Manager Account Manager Iko Iakobidze -watergunz -Animation CG artist Gigi Meburishvili -watergunz -Animation CG artist Levan Zazarashvili -Freelancer Animation CG artist Nana Labadze -Freelancer Junior Copywriter -Junior Copywriter Mariam Keshelashvili -watergunz -Junior Copywriter -Junior Copywriter Lili Askurava -Freelancer Junior Copywriter -Junior Copywriter Mariam Margishvili -Freelancer Painter -Painter Davit Kelberashvili -Freelancer Painter -Painter Musya Keburia -Freelancer Painter -Painter Sera Dzneladze -Freelancer Photographer -Photographer Giorgi Gorgiashvili -Freelancer Photoshoot set designer -Photoshoot set designer Giorgi Kavelasvili -Freelancer Photoshoot set designer -Photoshoot set designer Niko Iagorashvili -Freelancer Creator of Memorial board -Creator of Memorial board Giorgi Sheshaberidze -Freelancer Web Developer -Web Developer Papuna Pataridze -Freelancer Case video DOP -Case video DOP Omar Gelashvili -Freelancer DOP -DOP Manu Elijarashvili -Freelancer Focus puller -Focus puller Ninia tsabadze -Freelancer Cameraman -Cameraman Salome Akhaladze -Freelancer Sound operator -Sound operator Tekla Basishvili -Freelancer Production Manager -Production Manager Nino Gogua -Freelancer Editor -Editor Bacho Gvetadze -Freelancer Sound Design Arrangement -Sound Design Mariam Mikelashvili -Freelancer strategist -strategist Elene Gugushvili -Freelancer Strategist -Strategist Ketevan Lomsadze -watergunz -Production Manager Nanuka Chkuaseli -watergunz -Lawyer Lawyer Sophio Bendiashvili -watergunz -Line Producer Sophio Orjonikidze -watergunz -Producer Beqa Kirtava -watergunz -Production Manager Irina Mamulaishvili -watergunz -Account Manager Teko Mgaloblishvili -watergunz -Account Manager Ani Tandiashvili -watergunz -Account Manager Beqa Shekiladze -watergunz -Social Media Manager

Imagine how sad it is when you finally find your dream job and suddenly, your family member or loved one, or society is telling you to quit and give up on your dream, just because you’re a girl! “Physics requires a man’s mind”, “Surgery requires a man’s endurance”, “Construction work requires a man’s handiness”, “A female football player can’t successfully get married”, “A woman can’t be a pilot”, etc… These everyday phrases are one of the main reasons why almost 35% of young women can’t freely choose what they want to do. Often such phrases are said without a second thought or even realising how much harm they can cause. As a result, girls quit to follow their dreams. Memorial boards are seen as a symbol of professional accomplishments, as a symbol of appreciation and pride from society that an accomplished person lived in the same building or on the same street as them. The phrasing and aesthetic of these boards are all the same, and everyone in Georgia is very familiar with them. Installing new boards arouses interest in society; everyone wants to know who lived close to them. Memorial boards are one of the most visible and familiar objects in the streets, and they’ve never been used for this type of communication. Additionally, 90% of memorial boards honour males, which is quite unfair since the professional dreams of women are crushed at early stages due to societal stereotypes. We decided to use Memorial boards as our primary means of communication and to express the whole essence of the problem with a somewhat traditional Memorial Board Language. Instead of the traditional inscription: “Here lived a prominent Scientist, etc.” We wrote: “A renowned scientist, Elene Tabatadze, could have lived here, but she was made to believe that physics requires a man’s intelligence”. The phrases and names were different on all 30 boards. In addition, there was a QR code displayed alongside every board. By scanning it, individuals could access our website, where they could listen to a woman whose story was on the memorial board tell her story in full detail. The outcome was beyond our expectations as, within a few days, all major channels and internet publications, along with hundreds of celebrities, voluntarily joined the campaign. Social media users shared their personal stories and those of their loved ones, accompanied by comments or posts, encouraging other users to never give up on their dreams. Such an overwhelming response from the public led to negotiations with the city council, and we were able to install new memorial boards of notable Georgian women across the city, more notably, we achieved a significant milestone by permanently renaming 16 streets in Tbilisi after accomplished women. What's even more significant is that we've initiated a discussion and brought attention to a commonly ignored detail, which has resulted in a significant shift in the way people use these phrases in their daily lives.