Culture Ministry Fires Head of State Museum, Citing Disciplinary Proceedings Over ‘Sexist’ Statement

The Ministry of Culture has fired Lasha Bakradze, Director of the State Museum of Georgian Literature, following a disciplinary procedure. The move came after Lasha Bakradze made a controversial statement about female representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Bakradze joined the opposition UNM party in July.

On September 3, at one of the party’s public meetings, Lasha Bakradze said: “The choice [between GD and Unity Platform] is very easy, especially when you see the women who stand with us. Today you saw Mmes Tina, Tamari, Sopo. [allegedly Tina Bokuchava, Tamar Kordzaia and Sopo Japaridze, leaders of the platform]. So, these are the people we offer you and not these, sorry, but “used faces” that the representatives of Georgian Dream have.” [The word “used” in Georgian, when used to describe a woman, can have a rough connotation, implying a woman who has had many sexual partners.] Bakradze’s statement was widely criticized.

The Ministry of Culture’s press release said that Lasha Bakradze’s statement ” damages his reputation as the Director of the Museum of Georgian Literature and undermines the authority of the Museum”, whose mission is “to protect the interests of Georgian culture.” It also said that Bakradze’s statement “insults the dignity of the addressees of this statement, as well as of any representative of the female gender “with which he overstepped the bounds of freedom of expression.”

“Even in professional discussions, he stands out with sexist statements against women who are not acceptable to him and negligent attitude crafted in intellectualism,” the Ministry of Culture said.

On September 5, the Minister of Culture, Tea Tsulukiani, condemned Lasha Bakradze’s statement and announced that disciplinary procedure had been initiated against him. She said several outcomes were possible, including forgiving him if it would be deemed that his statement was not something to respond to, imposing a disciplinary fine on him, etc. She emphasized that the decision had not been made at that time, but that it was up to the Minister to decide.

Yet, ironically the Minister herself just two weeks ago, on August 26, published a statement against a number of opposition women, which drew public cricisim and was deemed derogatory and sexist, calling them “ungrateful,” “untalented,” “withered”, and “losers.” She wrote that opposition women politicians discourage voters from voting for women.

She addressed the women politicians critical of the GD: “Stop annoying us with wrong messages and wrong political behavior, and those of you who are a little bit normal on that [opposition] side, you’d better take care of business, some of you might just still get your pretty noses into the legislature, because the quotas designed and introduced by the Georgian Dream are no more.”

Lasha Bakradze was the Director of State Museum of Literature since 2010.

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