Visual Representation of Women's Social and Cultural Transformation in 20th-century Adjara: Photography as a Sociocultural Text

Abstract

This article examines the social and cultural transformation of Muslim women in twentieth-century Adjara through the analysis of family and archival photographs. Drawing on approaches from visual anthropology, cultural memory studies, and the sociology of photography, the study treats photographs not merely as illustrations of the past but as historical sources that reveal changing forms of female identity, social roles, and visual representation. The analysis focuses on three chronological periods: the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the era of Soviet modernization, and the late Soviet period. Particular attention is paid to clothing, bodily posture, visual self-presentation, and the relationship between women and public space. The photographic material reflects a gradual transformation from traditionally regulated forms of female visibility toward new modes of social participation and self-representation. At the same time, the images reveal the coexistence of continuity and change, showing how religious and cultural traditions persisted alongside processes of modernization. The article argues that pho-tography provides valuable evidence for reconstructing women's everyday experiences and for understanding the broader social and cultural transformations that shaped twentieth-century Adjara.