Aravot: "She's My Wife, I Can Do Whatever I Want" – No Convention Survives This "Tradition"

In its editorial, "Aravot" states: "The Istanbul Convention is aimed at preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. In Armenia, however, discussions around this document from the Council of Europe have diverged from the main topic and taken on a nationalistic character. Many are convinced that if the convention is ratified, our nation and state will perish.

For the majority of Armenians, as well as for me personally, the family is the result of a union between a woman and a man, as stated in our Constitution, and any law or convention contradicting this thesis is unacceptable both legally and morally.

Of course, there are other nations and other countries where the majority has a different understanding of family. I do not consider that perversion; rather, it is merely a manifestation of another culture. One is Christian, another is Buddhist, in some places it's accepted for women to wear hijabs, while in others it is not; some countries enjoy eating fried locusts, while others do not. So what? Can we say that one is right and the other is wrong, one is good and another is bad? Each nation lives by its own beliefs, and ours, as Armenians, has a clear view of family.

But let anyone show me any point in the Istanbul Convention that talks about same-sex marriages or a "third gender." Those nonexistent points have been fabricated by people who have not read the convention but have merely heard some "nationalist" conversations. People see some hints and insinuations. For example, it is said that since the convention speaks not of spouses but of partners, two women and two men can be partners. Frankly, I don’t see a problem here. It is much more likely that it refers to registered and unregistered couples. In Armenia, during the communist era, and even now, there are hundreds of normal families where parents raise their children but have not officially registered their relationships. Legally, they are partners.

Or it is stated that the convention includes the term sex, which refers to physical gender, but also includes gender as a psychological and social perception. However, I do not believe that this subtle issue holds any significant importance from the perspective of domestic violence. But let’s assume that all these obstacles exist in the convention. In that case, it is possible to ratify the convention with reservations or not ratify it at all—after all, the revolution will not be harmed by it.

But even if the convention is ratified, it will not function in Armenia, because no international document can overcome our men's "tradition" of "she's my wife, she's my child, I can do whatever I want, I can beat her if I want." Domestic violence in Armenia will only cease when men understand that if they love their wives, they must cherish them."