Your Namak for Friday, February 25
Russia invades Ukraine, top Armenian military brass ousted, Armenian parliamentary committee approves bill exempting brothers of fallen soldiers from mandatory service.
Hi there, here’s your weekly briefing of Armenian news in English, curated, reported and fact-checked by journalists Astrig Agopian and Maral Tavitian.
Russia Launches Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine
On February 24, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by land, sea and air, killing more than 100 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians and resulting in the most serious escalation of fighting in Europe since World War II. As many in the Caucasus are wondering about possible implications for the region, the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministries have not yet released any statements about the situation. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met on February 22 in Moscow. Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan met with his Russian counterpart Serguei Choigu in Moscow on February 24.
Acting Armenian President Dismisses Top Military Brass
Acting Armenian President Alen Simonyan ousted Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Artak Davtyan and four other generals. Davtyan, along with former Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan and several other officials, went on trial in January on fraud and embezzlement charges relating to claims of faulty weaponry and ammunition purchases. Simonyan executed the dismissals on direct orders from Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Armenian and Turkish Special Envoys Meet
On February 24, the special representatives appointed to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey met for a second time in Vienna. According to a statement by Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the envoys confirmed that the ultimate goal of the dialogues is to reach full normalization between the two countries. The parties reiterated their commitment to moving forward without preconditions.
Armenian Parliamentary Committee Approves Bill Exempting Brothers of Fallen Soldiers from Conscription
The Armenian parliament’s Standing Committee on Defense and Security approved a draft bill to exempt the brothers of fallen soldiers from completing their otherwise-compulsory military service. During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, some Armenian families lost all of their sons. According to MP Hayk Sargsyan, between 8,000 and 10,000 people receive exemptions from military service each year.
Mariam Torosyan: Meet the founder of an Armenia-made app seeking to eradicate gender-based violence
“I was pregnant with my daughter, and an older woman told me, ‘Oh no, don’t worry the next one will be a boy.’ That’s when I realized I did not want my daughter to grow up in a society like that, and I had to do something.”
Mariam Torosyan easily juggles between Armenian, Russian, French and English while talking about her work. Calm and determined, she approaches her work like a mission.
The 32-year-old was born and raised in Yerevan. After studying law at Université Jean Moulin and Yerevan State University, she obtained a PhD in social anthropology and law at the University of Freiburg and Université de Neuchâtel. She worked as a legal consultant in diverse firms, but always had an eye on the start-up ecosystem in Armenia.
But none of her work focused on women, until she was pregnant with her daughter and realized technology could help make the world a better place for women and girls.
“I was pregnant with my daughter, and an older woman told me, ‘Oh no, don’t worry the next one will be a boy.’ That’s when I realized I did not want my daughter to grow up in a society like that, and I had to do something,” Mariam says. “Because what is the problem in this world that makes a woman tell another woman that having a girl is bad.”
In 2018, the Armenia-based Enterprise Incubator Foundation won the World Bank Group and Sexual Violence Initiative Award for the project “Geeks Against Gender-Based Violence.” Mariam, who was the project team leader, then founded the Impact Innovation Institute in April 2020 and launched the Safe You App, designed to be a “virtual safe space” for women and girls. The app is currently available on Google Play and the App Store in Armenia, Georgia and Iraq, and has more than 23,000 active users.
“There is no data [on gender-based violence] in Armenia, it is fragmented or outdated. But it’s not specific to us, it’s a major issue everywhere, which makes it hard to address the problem,” Mariam says. “The majority of our society lives with very patriarchal values and it’s bad for both men and women. But especially women, who suffer the consequences.”
In the app, users can choose up to three contacts in their contact list and three contacts from the network section (such as police and help centers). Women in danger can press a “help” button for three seconds and three messages will be sent for free to alert their contacts, with geolocation. The app also starts audio recording.
“In many cases of violence and even rapes, there is a lack of evidence. So it’s important to try to keep proof, and the audio recording can help with that,” Mariam explains. “Also because the culture is against women, policemen tend to believe men and not women.”
The app also provides educational information, phone numbers of shelters, and other useful resources. Gender-based violence is a global issue, but has its own specificities in low- and middle-income countries.
“Structurally, a lot of things are missing compared to higher income countries,” Mariam says. “So that’s why we can have a stronger impact in countries like Armenia. We are a bridge between resources and women.”
The app will launch next in Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Then Mariam aims to target Syria and more countries in the Middle East, along with high-income countries including France, Denmark and later on the United States.
“This app has already saved lives,” Mariam says. “I cannot give details of course, because it’s an ongoing legal case, but it works. It truly saved the lives of several women and their children.”
To read: From Armenia to US: Green Card Application Statistics, an article tracking the number of applicants from Armenia who have pursued the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program over the years. This piece is part of #CivilNetCheck, a new series by the Armenian media outlet CivilNet that investigates fake news stories circulating online.
To watch: One man’s dream to breed back extinct Armenian mountain horses, a video about one riding club founder’s goal to restore a breed of Armenia’s wild horses.
To listen: Մենք, a boppy new single by Armenian pop trio “Those Girlz.” Once you learn the lyrics, it is impossible to listen to this happy tune without singing along.
That’s it for today, see you next week!
Questions? Story ideas? An urge to say barev/parev? You can send us a secure email at namaknews@protonmail.com.