Paper short abstract:

Paper long abstract:

The importance of honour and shame is still observable today in Georgia. The honour of a Georgian woman is connected to her sexual behaviour and her work in the household. She has to remain virgin until marriage and has to be loyal to her husband. A Georgian man's honour is defined trough manhood, strength and assertiveness. I will focus on alternative ways of social behaviour Georgian women have, beside the traditional idea of honour and shame. Social and political upheavals during the Socialist period, the independence in 1991 and the westernisation under Mikheil Saakashvili have influenced and modified the concept of honour. Migrated young women discover their womanhood in a new way when they live in a Western country and are not under control of their families. The dimensions of the changes and the alternative ways women find to reframe this concept will be part of the presentation.