How war changes the perception of March 8

The feminist movement in Ukraine has always balanced between two narratives: fighting for rights, opposing discrimination, eradicating violence;

and the formation and development of a space where women can realize their potential without fear and limitations.

Today, it is important for Ukrainian women not only to fight against stereotypes, but also to build a new reality where the question “is this a women's issue?” should not arise at all.

President of the NGO “La Strada-Ukraine” says that during war, public attention is really focused on security and defense issues, so sometimes it can seem that the issues of gender-based violence and equal rights and opportunities for women and men recede into the background. 

In practice, war only exacerbates existing inequalities and makes many gender issues more visible. These include increased risks of gender-based violence, economic vulnerability, and challenges in accessing social services.

It is precisely attention to these issues, especially during a full-scale war, that is critically important. This allows for the formation of effective state policies, taking into account the needs of different population groups, and ensuring fair approaches to the country's reconstruction. And this also corresponds to Ukraine's international obligations, in particular within the framework of the Women, Peace, Security agenda, - emphasizes Marina Lehenka.

A celebration of femininity and comparison with flowers 

Traditional comparisons of women with flowers or spring often conceal a refusal to see a woman as a person with her own ambitions, fatigue, and internal contradictions. Modern Ukrainian women increasingly fit into the stereotypical image of "delicate flowers."

Psychologist Olga Zinchenko says that in therapeutic work she often encounters questions about internal conflicts, including issues of "being feminine" and "being strong." 

From childhood, we receive a certain set of attitudes from society, which we often deal with in therapy. What kind of woman should be, what kind of mother, wife, friend, daughter. But the real question is whether a woman wants to be a mother or a wife at all, whether she wants to build a career, or be childfree. – says the psychologist.

However, it is worth emphasizing that the problem is not with the flowers or the attention as such. The problem is that often behind them lies a reluctance to recognize women as  full participants in public life – with their own ambitions, needs, the right to “be uncomfortable” and versatility.

Olga comments: Sometimes it seems to me that nowadays there is more freedom of choice, more opportunities to think more broadly, but in reality we still work with the same attitudes and the most important question is who I am, what I want to be and what my needs are. And the most difficult thing is to learn to rely on your own feelings, and not on the expectations of society.