During a plenary session, Parliament reviewed and approved in the first reading, with 83 votes in favor, amendments to the Law on Gender Equality and its related legislative package.

According to the draft law, the term “gender equality” in the title and text of the law will be replaced with “equality between women and men”. Additionally, the provision defining the term “gender” will be removed from the legislation.

As stated by the Chair of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee, David Matikashvili, the introduction of the term “gender” into Georgian legislation was influenced by foreign practices and was part of a broader global trend. He emphasized that the law aims to align terminology with traditional legal concepts.

The proposed amendments also abolish the obligation to establish permanent parliamentary councils on gender equality within Parliament, the supreme representative bodies of autonomous republics, and municipal councils.

“The existence of a council that, by its very name, created a misleading perception of its purpose is no longer necessary. However, this does not mean that Parliament or local self-government bodies should not remain fully committed to upholding the principle of equality between women and men", - David Matikashvili stated.