The Women’s Circle was a women's organization active in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

during the Russian era, founded in 1872.October 2021 IEJESVolume 5 Issue 10 - DergiPark It was founded by a group of women who were forced to study in Switzerland because no university open to them in the Russian Empire. Among its co-founders were

Anastasia Tumanishvili-Tsereteli Anastasia Tumanishvili-Tsereteli (1849–1932) was a Georgians, Georgian writer and educator who made important contributions to cultural developments in her country, particularly those of women. She first founded the Women’s Circle, Georgia ...

Ekaterine Melikishvili-Meskhi Ekaterine (Keke) Melikishvili, married name Meskhi, (1854–1928) was a Georgian writer, translator and feminist. Brought up in a well-to-do home in Tbilisi, after matriculating from a Swiss high school, she became one of the first Georgian women ...

Olga Guramishvili-Nikoladze Olga Guramishvili-Nikoladze ( ka, ოლღა გურამიშვილი-ნიკოლაძე, 29 July 1855 – 24 May 1940) was a Georgian biologist and educator. One of the first women to study abroad, she earned a degree in pedag ...

Ekaterine Gabashvili Ekaterine Gabashvili ( ka, ეკატერინე გაბაშვილი) née Tarkhnishvili (თარხნიშვილი) (16 June 1851 – 7 August 1938) was a Georgian writer, feminist and public figure who called for social ref ...

and

Elene Kipiani ''Elene'' is a poem in Old English, that is sometimes known as ''Saint Helena Finds the True Cross''. It was translated from a Latin text and is the longest of Cynewulf's four signed poems. It is the last of six poems appearing in the Vercelli man ...

. It was a literary society for women, which translated and discussed foreign literature. Political organizations were not permitted in the Russian Empire before 1905, but the society was permitted because it was a literary society. In practice, however, the society functioned as a women's organization since it gave women the opportunity to gather and discuss women's issues and reforms in women's rights. The Women’s Circle spread across Georgia through local branches. It is regarded as the starting point of the organized women's movement in Georgia. In 1905, political organizations was officially permitted in the Russian Empire, and the Women’s Circle was succeeded by a number of openly political women's organizations, such as “Education” (1908), “Georgian Women’s Charity Organization”, “Commission of Tbilisi Women’s Circle”, “Georgian Women’s Society”, “School for Poor Girls”, “Society of Education”, “Society of Knowledge” and “Georgian Unity of Equality for Women” and finally the suffrage organization Inter-Partial League of Women of

Kato Mikeladze Ekaterine "Kato" Mikeladze (1878–1942) was a Georgians, Georgian journalist and feminist who from 1916 fought for women's rights. In order to encourage women to become politically active, she established The Inter-Partial League of Women backed ...

(1916).{{cite book, last1=Barkaia, first1=Maia, last2=Waterston, first2=Alisse, title=Gender in Georgia: Feminist Perspectives on Culture, Nation, and History in the South Caucasus, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JALDDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA21, year=2017, publisher=Berghahn Books, isbn=978-1-78533-676-8, pages=21–

References

* Organisations based in Georgia (country) Organizations established in 1872 Women's rights organizations Women's organizations 1872 establishments 1870s in Georgia (country)