Transitions
February’s SALT issue explores the quiet and defiant shifts reshaping Armenian society, from gendered double standards around smoking and young women living independently, to reclaiming St. Sargis in the age of Valentine’s Day. With a profile featuring Armenian-American writer and illustrator Nonny Hogrogian and a photo story about women footballers breaking barriers, this issue is all about transitions.
Cover photo by Roubina Margossian.
In Armenia’s villages, young girls are stepping onto the football field and challenging long-held stereotypes. Through UEFA Playmakers, they are building confidence, learning resilience, and daring to imagine futures as athletes in a sport long considered off-limits to them.
From Thanksgiving myths to children’s libraries, the story of Armenian-American writer Nonny Hogrogian reveals how she quietly reshaped American storytelling. Drawing on folklore and heritage, she challenged assimilation, expanded cultural representation, and became a subtle yet powerful revolutionary in children’s literature.
In a society where young women rarely live alone, Eliza Barkhudaryan reflects on carving out a space of her own. In this very honest piece, she explores independence, quiet rebellion, and the tender, unsettling transition from daughterhood to self-defined adulthood in Armenia.
While Yerevan is awash with roses and red balloons on Valentine’s Day each year, Armenia’s own patron saint of lovers quietly fades into the background. Maria Tumanyan uncovers the layered history, pagan roots and enduring rituals of St. Sargis, a feast where love, legend and identity intertwine.
In Armenia, while men navigate the harmful habit of smoking with relative freedom, young women are faced with judgment, surveillance and social scrutiny. Tamara Khachatryan examines how gendered expectations shape who is shamed, who is ignored and how societal norms enforce control.
EVN Report’s mission is to empower Armenia, inspire the diaspora and inform the world through sound, credible and fact-based reporting and commentary. Our goal is to increase public trust in the media. EVN Report is the media arm of EVN News Foundation registered in the Republic of Armenia in 2017.
