GENDER ASPECTS OF INHERITANCE MANAGEMENT IN GEORGIA CULTURAL PRACTICES VS LAW REGULATIONS

Abstract

After gaining independence in 1991 Georgia adopted the new constitution, received liberal laws and joined international conventions, which formally guarantee gender equality. However, law regulations do not come in accordance with cultural values, and are not shared by society. Consequently, the problems of gender inequality are still vital issues in Georgian society. Traditionally, informal practice of dowry giving protected women and gave them independence in a new family. Nowadays, in Georgia a daughter and a son formally have equal access to their parent’s inheritance, but there are very rare cases when a woman demands her part of it. This is not justified by society to contend for the inheritance with a brother. Formal institutions are not strong to prevent this economic form of domestic violence. The methodology of the research is complex: expert interviews were recorded and analyzed, to study data about the inheritance registration and court records pertaining to inheritance litigations, the method of content analysis was used; apart from this, ethnographic resources and surveys were examined. The findings of the proposed research article provide a complex picture of this really vital problem still affecting the post-soviet Georgian society. Key words: culture, gender, inheritance, law, and management