Zaruhi Postanjyan admits that her family suffered because of her legislative and political activity. Nevertheless she never imagined that she would be in this field. Why did she enter the politics and what hardships did she face? Find details in the next interview of the “Women in the Legislative” series by Iravaban.net.
Mrs. Postanjyan, how did it happen that you appeared in the National Assembly?
My presence here is conditioned by the struggle for rights and the sovereignty of our country. I want our state to be sovereign and the human rights be respected in the legislation, that`s why I am here.
Why did You decide to undertake legislative activity?
I would have never imagined that I`d be here, I never imagined that I could be involved in politics. Before coming here I was involved in advocacy. That was the reason that, let`s say, I met the politics, I represented “Heritage” party at judicial instances. And this was one of the bases for my involvement in the politics.
Isn`t it difficult to be a woman who is active both in the politics and in the legislative field?
I think that for any person it is difficult to deal with a state official. I am one of them, it`s not that I am special.
What did change in Your life when You entered the Legislative field and what did it give to Your family?
My grandparents have been persecuted during the Stalin regime. Their family was also expelled to Siberia, Altay region, my mother went to school there. So I just knew through stories what political persecution meant, but never felt that. During this period I surely grew up a lot. We passed through a difficult way, we saw March 1 and victims of March 1. But I`d never imagine that my activity in the political and legislative field would cause so many hardships for my family as well. An illegal persecution has been initiated against my brother, he was kept in detention for 3 months, but was eventually released. I want to say that in politics it is also difficult to fight for human rights and freedoms. It is not easy for family members as well. So my family faced many hardships.
Can we state that women are not sufficiently involved in the legislative activities?
No, women are not sufficiently involved in the state bodies at all.
Could You please present today`s legislative field, what the problems are and what initiatives you come up with?
I come up with many legislative initiatives, starting from the state fees, rules of conduct for MPs up to Genocide of other nationalities in the Ottoman Empire, etc. I try to present many issues in the National Assembly, not only legislative initiatives, but also raising of public issues. We make announcements here. Fields are different, and there are many problems in the Republic of Armenia. When citizens apply to you, you have to react to those applications.
Find the full interview in Armenian.
Interview by Gevorg Tosunyan
