Within the framework of the women’s month celebrations, we wanted to underline the many roles which women play in society – but particularly the role of women as leaders. Ambassador Kathy Leach met Lyudmila Petrova, head of the village Verin Dvin in Ararat Marz. They discussed several topics, from community issues to challenges for women leaders. The village has a largely Assyrian population, but also includes Armenians and Yezidis.
Amb Leach: How did you first come into local politics?
Lyudmila Petrova: I’m not a naturally politically active person. But I had a role in the village as the head of staff for six years and found that people trusted me and respected me. In the end the villagers asked me to stand for election as head of the community. The first election was in 2004. I had three male opponents, including the incumbent village head. I did no campaigning at all.
AL: And you still won? This says a lot about how the community felt about you. Were you surprised?
LP: No, by that point I expected it. For my second election, two men stood against me. But the third time, no-one stood against me.
AL: The men understood by that point you were unbeatable…What was the secret of your success?
LP: I listened. I was attentive to what people said, listened to their problems. I found that’s what people want.
AL: How have you found, over the last 10 years, the experience of being a leader? Has it changed you?
LP: I have a good family– they have supported me. Family ties are very important for Assyrians and Armenians – if I had thought my work would interfere with these ties, I would have given up the work. But my family have supported me and so I have been able to carry out my responsibilities.
I wouldn’t say my character has changed – that I have become more tough, no. I have solved problems like a man, but not using the tools a man might use, being tough, showing strength and so on.
AL: When there are gatherings of the communities, how do the other heads respond to you?
LP: I feel they respect me as a person, as an individual. But I am not sure that there is really equality – in general their view will be that a woman can’t be a leader.
AL: I think the challenge for women in the public eye is to show that a different style is possible, and is effective.
LP: Yes, a woman should not become like a man. Rather, they should complete each other. If we could reach even 30-40% women in meetings at the Marz central administration, this would immediately change the atmosphere.
AL: Can I ask you a practical question? For every working mother there is always the question of how you balance family and working life. How have you managed to do it?
LP: I sleep very little! Every day I get up at 5am. I prepare everything for the day, for my family, get the house ready. And then at 9am I go to work. The most important thing is that there is mutual trust.
AL: Which part of your job do you enjoy the most?
LP: When I can make a difference, solve a problem for someone.
AL: Do you have goals, things you want to achieve over the next year or so?
LP: Every year I try to solve at least two big problems. This year we have three main goals: to install central heating in the school; to renovate one of the rooms in the village building so that we can have performances there; and to put in the gas connection for a new district in the village.
AL: I was very keen to visit this village, an Assyrian community. It’s very interesting that the Assyrian community has managed to maintain its culture, its sense of identity, for all these years [the community first moved to Russia, then Armenia, after the 1828 Russian-Persian treaty].
LP: At school for two hours every day the children are taught the Assyrian language and history. Armenia’s independence gave us new privileges – the right to teach our own language in school. In Soviet times, we could only speak our language at home. Our grandparents helped us keep the language alive, but we knew nothing about our history, our rich heritage, our influence on world culture. Now we even have a priest, who came from Iraq, carrying out services in Aramaic.
AL: It’s wonderful that the language managed to survive in families, and that now it has an opportunity to flourish. In the UK, we still have a few speakers of Gaelic, the ancient Scottish language – but the use of the Welsh language remains strong (around 15-20% of the population of Wales speaking, reading and writing it), with schools teaching in Welsh, Welsh TV channels and so on. Where are the largest Assyrian communities in the world now?
LP: Our historical homeland was in northern Iraq. Now there are large communities in Iran, Syria, Australia (150,000), Russia (Krasnodar), Ukraine. In Iraq there were more than 1 million, but after the war many emigrated. Many of course are now emigrating from Syria.
AL: I am wondering how many Assyrians we have in the UK. [In fact there is a small community in West London, which even has its own football club, FC Ealing Assyrians].
LP: British archaelogists were among the first to discover the history of our country –I am sure there are artefacts in the British Museum.
AL: Next time I go to London I will go to the Museum and have a look! Lyudmila Petrova, it’s been a real pleasure to meet you
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