But there is also a silver lining.

“A decade ago, the general attitude could have been described as ‘politics is not a place for a woman’. Today, I hear a lot of positive feedback from the voters,” notes Natsvlishvili. “They like that I am a woman politician, appreciate what I am doing and encourage me to strive for more.”

The change in attitude has come about because of long-term work carried out in the public space by brave and talented women, including women parliamentarians. This is why both MPs believe that solidarity among women politicians, regardless of their political orientation, is key.

“Strong as you are, you can’t do much if you are on your own. Women parliamentarians support each other even though we represent different political parties and disagree on many issues. When the political arena turns into a battlefield, women always try to stay away from the toxic area. We may have our distinctively different positions and opinions, but we don’t wage personal wars, which is something men often do. My experience proves that women can have a truly positive impact on politics, in both parliament and society,” says Natsvlishvili.

Tsilosani recalls how women’s solidarity helped drive the challenging process of adopting gender quotas in the electoral code. “As women MPs, we consolidated our power to pave the way for other initiatives. Georgia’s Constitution guarantees equal rights and opportunities for men and women. This guarantee was the ground for introducing electoral gender quotas and other laws and policies aimed at levelling inequality. It’s an important legislative step but also a social and cultural stride towards gender equality.”