Salome Sagaradze photographed Khatia Rekhviashvili at the Rights Georgia office, Human Rights House Tbilisi, in June 2026, for the fourth edition of the “Portraits of Strength” photography series.
Why did you become a human rights defender?
I became a human rights defender because, even in school, I felt that our society did not protect the human being as its highest value. The simple fact of being human should be enough to be respected.
I could not formulate it legally then, but I knew how much I hated privilege and wanted to help create a country where dignity would not be someone’s privilege, but everyone’s everyday reality.
At first, I thought I could be most effective as a public servant. But after eight years inside the system, I realised that my work depended on political will. I no longer wanted to write reform documents that would gather dust on shelves. I wanted to be part of real change. That is how I joined Rights Georgia.
What is the nature of your work, and what challenges do you face as a Woman Human Rights Defender?
My work at Rights Georgia is to coordinate projects and legal teams that use strategic litigation to confront gender-based violence, torture and ill-treatment by police, restrictions on freedoms of expression and assembly, and mass surveillance of activists. I also document severe violations and prepare analytical reports.
As a woman human rights defender, one of the hardest challenges has been balancing professional responsibility with personal survival. One of the most difficult periods in Georgia coincided with my high-risk pregnancy: I already had one child, was pregnant with my second, and was working on torture documentation.
It was extremely difficult to draw boundaries, to be gentle with myself, and to perform my professional duties without being consumed by emotion and empathy. Every such limitation felt like a lump of helplessness stuck in my throat. Still, I had to remain a mother and create a safe space for my children.
What is the current human rights situation in Georgia?
The current human rights situation in Georgia is critical. We are facing state capture, shrinking civic space, increasing pressure on peaceful assembly, intimidation of activists, media, and civil society, mass surveillance, and growing impunity for abuses committed by law-enforcement bodies.
Operating in a daily crisis has a strange effect. At some point, you realise that you must either get used to the degradation of your country or overcome fear and continue the struggle. I realised that if I remained inactive, I would have to give up the dream of a democratic and free Georgia. For someone born at the same time as independent Georgia, this would mean giving up part of my identity.
What kind of human rights situation in Georgia would you like to see in the next 30 years?
In the next 30 years, I would like Georgia to become a country where human rights defenders have very little urgent work to do. Instead of trying to survive personally and professionally, I hope we will discuss human rights through technological progress and higher standards. Perhaps this hope is what pushes me to continue my work until victory – a victory for dignity, freedom, and a democratic Georgia.
Do human rights still matter? Why?
Human rights still matter because, in Georgia today, they are the line between freedom and submission.
Since independence, there has always been a sense of progress. Now the situation is deteriorating at a catastrophic pace. We are facing a decisive moment: whether we remain a free, dignified, civilised nation, or become a subdued society that has failed to escape the Soviet mentality.
What is your motivation as a human rights defender?
My motivation is simple: the main value is the human being, and every protected right makes us a more civilised society.
About Portraits of Strength
Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) work to protect and advance freedoms while facing discrimination and stereotypes about their role and participation in society.
HRHF’s “Portraits of Strength” photography series honours the vital role that women play in defending human rights, and portrays women human rights defenders from across the Network of Human Rights Houses.
The exhibition, now in its fourth edition, shares portraits taken by local women photographers and tells the stories from WHRDs working on a variety of issues, including the documentation of human rights violations and alleged war crimes, rule of law, women’s rights, political prisoners, freedom of expression, and more.
Find out more here.
