The war has seen a significant increase in the number of women serving in the Ukrainian military, with several positions that had been reserved for men only being opened up to women.[2][3][4] By 2016, 8.5 percent of the Ukrainian military were women and by March 2021, the percentage of women in the armed forces had risen to 22.8 percent, 15.5% of them described by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense as "female servicemen".[5][6][7][8]
The Ukrainian Center for Drone Intelligence, which builds drones for the Ukrainian army and provides training courses for drone warfare, was founded by Maria Berlinska, who had volunteered to serve on the front after graduating from university.[9][10]
A number of women soldiers have achieved high levels of public prominence during the war. Nadiya Savchenko, a fighter pilot who volunteered for the Aidar Battalion after her regular battalion was not deployed to the front, was named a Hero of Ukraine and elected to the Ukrainian Parliament after being captured by the Luhansk People's Republic.[11][12][13]
Women have also featured in military propaganda in the war.[14] In May 2014, Donetsk People's Republic Defence Minister Igor Girkin posted an online video calling for recruits, stating that "if men are not capable of this, we will have to call on women."[15] In March 2015, on International Women's Day, the DNR held a propaganda beauty pageant featuring all female soldiers.[16]
In their 2019 book Insurgent Women: Female Combatants in Civil Wars authors Darden, Henshaw and Szekely, while confirming the combat role of women in several Ukrainian and pro-Russian armed forces and militias as medics, drivers, sentries or on patrol, say that their participation in the first line of action, particularly as snipers, has been usually overstated by the media, or at least hard to verify. They distinguish female combatants by their motivation to become involved in the war. On the Ukrainian side, women were strongly moved by Ukrainian nationalism, while their pro-Russian counterpart fought for more personal reasons, like defending their families or homes. According to these authors, Ukrainian female soldiers actively chose "to go to the front. Those on the separatist side feel that the front came to them".[17]
A significant number of women have volunteered to fight for the Ukrainian forces in response to the invasion.[18][19][20][21] Mia Bloom and Sophia Moskalenko of Georgia State University have stated that "Ukrainian women have historically enjoyed independence not common in other parts of the globe" and that "Ukraine offers a unique insight into the roles that women can play in defending the nation and as leaders in their own right."[22] In September 2022, Aljazeera stated: "There are about 50,000 women serving in the Ukrainian armed forces in combat and non-combat roles, of which about 10,000 are currently either on the front lines of the war or in jobs that could send them to the front lines, according to Ukrainian military officials. There were about 32,000 women in the military prior to the invasion."[23]
In October 2022, the first all-female prisoner of war exchange occurred between Russia and Ukraine, with 108 Ukrainian women being returned, including 37 who had fought in the Battle of Azovstal.[24]
Women in the Ukrainian military still face significant levels of discrimination and stigma, both formally, still being barred from a number of positions and with provisions like proper uniforms and maternity leave still lacking, and from their fellow soldiers.[25] Harassment and sexual violence against female soldiers is common and rarely reported or investigated.[26]
One female soldier recounted some of the discrimination she faced to Hromadske.TV: "I liberated 11 cities, I was involved in prisoner releases, but, nonetheless, most people would say that I am a “Carpathian, who fought in the first months of her pregnancy,” without taking my military experience into account."[27] According to the Atlantic Council:
Women served in both the Ukrainian military and volunteer battalions. In the process, they experienced sexual harassment on the frontlines and faced sexual discrimination upon their return home. Many women soldiers were criticized for leaving their children and families to serve, stereotyped as sexually promiscuous, or even investigated by social services and had their children taken away. The discrimination is often so bad that women veterans will not wear uniforms. Women are encouraged to ignore their trauma. As one female volunteer put it, “Men go to the pubs with other men, but women must get back to their jobs and take care of their children.”[28]
In July 2021, the Ukrainian military faced criticism after it announced that women soldiers would be marching in high heels in the parade marking 30 years of independence.[29] The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stated that the military's 2017 dress code included high heels.[30]
The song "Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, featured women in Ukrainian military uniforms in its music video, with frontman Oleh Psiuk saying that the song had acquired new meanings after the Russian invasion "because a lot of people are perceiving it as if Ukraine is my mother."[31][32]
^Oliphant, Roland (11 January 2015). "Nadia Savchenko: The most controversial prisoner of the war in Ukraine". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
^"Ukraine arrests war hero over 'coup plot'". BBC News. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
^Regamey, Amandine (February 25, 2016). "Falsehood in the War in Ukraine: the Legend of Women Snipers". The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies. (17). doi:10.4000/pipss.4222 – via Centre pour l'Édition Électronique Ouverte.
^Darden, Jessica Trisko (May 19, 2016). "For a Stronger Military, Draft Women Too". HuffPost.
^Taylor, Alan. "Beauty in the Ceasefire: A Pageant in Donetsk - The Atlantic". www.theatlantic.com.
^Darden, Jessica Trisko; Henshaw, Alexis; Szekely, Ora (2019). Insurgent Women: Female Combatants in Civil Wars. Georgetown University Press. pp. 18–21. ISBN978-1-62616-666-0.
^"Women in Ukraine Play a Critical Role in the Fight Against Russia". Time. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
^"Ukrainian women stand strong against Russian invaders". Washington Post. 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
^These are the women choosing to stay and fight Russian forces - CNN Video, 9 March 2022, retrieved 2022-03-29
^O'Reilly, Jonathon (2022-02-03). "Female volunteers 'move like angels' in Ukrainian army as Russia tensions escalate". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
^Bloom, Mia; Moskalenko, Sophia (21 March 2022). "Ukraine's women fighters reflect a cultural tradition of feminist independence". The Conversation. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
^Elizondo, Gabriel (17 September 2022). "Ukrainian women joining the military amid Russia's invasion". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
^"Ukraine Announces Release of 108 Women in First All-Female Prisoner Exchange with Russia". Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty.
^"A Two-Front Battle: How Ukrainian Military Women Are Fighting For Equality". ukraineworld.org. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
^"Invisible in an invisible war". October 21, 2019.
^"What It's Like to Be a Female in the Ukrainian Army". en.hromadske.ua. 17 March 2019.
^"The trip from Donbas: Ukraine's pressing need to defend its veterans". September 21, 2020.
^"'Mockery': Backlash after Ukraine women troops march in heels". www.aljazeera.com.
^Peltier, Elian; Varenikova, Maria (July 3, 2021). "'Why?' Ukrainian Army Faces Criticism for Making Women March in Heels". The New York Times.
^Richards, Will (15 May 2022). "Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra share powerful video for Eurovision-winning song 'Stefania'". NME. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
^Nicole Winfield and Paolo Santalucia (15 May 2022). "Eurovision win in hand, Ukraine band releases new war video". AP NEWS. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Bibliographyedit
Martsenyuk, Tamara (July 2022). "Women's Participation in Defending Ukraine in Russia's War" (PDF). Global Cooperation Research – A Quarterly Magazine. University of Duisburg-Essen: 5. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Rusnak, Ivan (2021). "White Book 2019-2020; The Armed Forces of Ukraine and The State Special Transport Service" (PDF). White Book Information Bulletin: 97 – via Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Women in the military of Ukraine.
December 12, 2023
women, ukrainian, military, have, played, active, roles, revolution, dignity, donbas, ongoing, 2022, russian, invasion, ukraine, first, year, students, kharkiv, national, force, university, taking, their, military, oath, loyalty, ukrainian, people, 2018, since. Women in the Ukrainian military have played active roles in the Revolution of Dignity the war in Donbas and the ongoing 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine 1 First year students of the Kharkiv National Air Force University on the day of taking their military oath of loyalty to the Ukrainian people 2018 Since 2014 women have also been struggling against discrimination and for gender equality within the Armed Forces of Ukraine with projects such as Invisible Battalion 1 Contents 1 War in Donbas 2 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine 3 Position 3 1 Discrimination 3 2 Invisible Battalion 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External linksWar in Donbas editThis section is an excerpt from Women in the war in Donbas 2014 2022 Women in the military edit nbsp Female soldier operating a ZPU 1 anti aircraft gun in the Aidar Battalion Luhansk Oblast August 2014The war has seen a significant increase in the number of women serving in the Ukrainian military with several positions that had been reserved for men only being opened up to women 2 3 4 By 2016 8 5 percent of the Ukrainian military were women and by March 2021 the percentage of women in the armed forces had risen to 22 8 percent 15 5 of them described by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense as female servicemen 5 6 7 8 The Ukrainian Center for Drone Intelligence which builds drones for the Ukrainian army and provides training courses for drone warfare was founded by Maria Berlinska who had volunteered to serve on the front after graduating from university 9 10 A number of women soldiers have achieved high levels of public prominence during the war Nadiya Savchenko a fighter pilot who volunteered for the Aidar Battalion after her regular battalion was not deployed to the front was named a Hero of Ukraine and elected to the Ukrainian Parliament after being captured by the Luhansk People s Republic 11 12 13 Women have also featured in military propaganda in the war 14 In May 2014 Donetsk People s Republic Defence Minister Igor Girkin posted an online video calling for recruits stating that if men are not capable of this we will have to call on women 15 In March 2015 on International Women s Day the DNR held a propaganda beauty pageant featuring all female soldiers 16 In their 2019 book Insurgent Women Female Combatants in Civil Wars authors Darden Henshaw and Szekely while confirming the combat role of women in several Ukrainian and pro Russian armed forces and militias as medics drivers sentries or on patrol say that their participation in the first line of action particularly as snipers has been usually overstated by the media or at least hard to verify They distinguish female combatants by their motivation to become involved in the war On the Ukrainian side women were strongly moved by Ukrainian nationalism while their pro Russian counterpart fought for more personal reasons like defending their families or homes According to these authors Ukrainian female soldiers actively chose to go to the front Those on the separatist side feel that the front came to them 17 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine editThis section is an excerpt from Women in the Russian invasion of Ukraine In the Ukrainian military edit A significant number of women have volunteered to fight for the Ukrainian forces in response to the invasion 18 19 20 21 Mia Bloom and Sophia Moskalenko of Georgia State University have stated that Ukrainian women have historically enjoyed independence not common in other parts of the globe and that Ukraine offers a unique insight into the roles that women can play in defending the nation and as leaders in their own right 22 In September 2022 Aljazeera stated There are about 50 000 women serving in the Ukrainian armed forces in combat and non combat roles of which about 10 000 are currently either on the front lines of the war or in jobs that could send them to the front lines according to Ukrainian military officials There were about 32 000 women in the military prior to the invasion 23 In October 2022 the first all female prisoner of war exchange occurred between Russia and Ukraine with 108 Ukrainian women being returned including 37 who had fought in the Battle of Azovstal 24 nbsp Position editDiscrimination edit This section is an excerpt from Women in the war in Donbas 2014 2022 Discrimination edit Women in the Ukrainian military still face significant levels of discrimination and stigma both formally still being barred from a number of positions and with provisions like proper uniforms and maternity leave still lacking and from their fellow soldiers 25 Harassment and sexual violence against female soldiers is common and rarely reported or investigated 26 One female soldier recounted some of the discrimination she faced to Hromadske TV I liberated 11 cities I was involved in prisoner releases but nonetheless most people would say that I am a Carpathian who fought in the first months of her pregnancy without taking my military experience into account 27 According to the Atlantic Council Women served in both the Ukrainian military and volunteer battalions In the process they experienced sexual harassment on the frontlines and faced sexual discrimination upon their return home Many women soldiers were criticized for leaving their children and families to serve stereotyped as sexually promiscuous or even investigated by social services and had their children taken away The discrimination is often so bad that women veterans will not wear uniforms Women are encouraged to ignore their trauma As one female volunteer put it Men go to the pubs with other men but women must get back to their jobs and take care of their children 28 In July 2021 the Ukrainian military faced criticism after it announced that women soldiers would be marching in high heels in the parade marking 30 years of independence 29 The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stated that the military s 2017 dress code included high heels 30 Invisible Battalion edit This section is an excerpt from Invisible Battalion edit Invisible Battalion Ukrainian Nevidimij Bataljon romanized Nevydymyy Batal yon is a Ukrainian advocacy campaign a sociological research group and a civil rights project for gender equality in the Armed Forces of Ukraine In popular culture editThis section is an excerpt from Women in the Russian invasion of Ukraine In popular culture edit The song Stefania by Kalush Orchestra the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 featured women in Ukrainian military uniforms in its music video with frontman Oleh Psiuk saying that the song had acquired new meanings after the Russian invasion because a lot of people are perceiving it as if Ukraine is my mother 31 32 See also editWomen in UkraineReferences edit a b Martsenyuk 2022 p 1 Ex Military Cartographer On Women On Donbas Frontline LGBT Activism and Nationalism en hromadske ua 31 January 2020 Women Warriors of the Ukraine the Story INSTITUTE Wendle John Ukraine women s battalion www aljazeera com Women are changing the face of armed forces in Ukraine UN Women Europe and Central Asia November 2016 Retrieved 2021 07 17 Ukraine s military starts walking back plan for women to parade in pumps after backlash Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved 2021 07 17 https www mil gov ua content files whitebook WB 2019 2020 eng pdf Ewe Koh 4 March 2022 We Are Not Afraid of Death The Ukrainian Women Taking Up Arms Against Russia Vice News Woman in war The story of Maria Berlinska a volunteer in the Ukrainian Army en hromadske ua 12 January 2017 Meet Maria Berlinska founder of the Ukrainian Centre for Drone Intelligence 21 06 2015 June 19 2015 The Many Faces Of Nadia Savchenko Radio Free Europe July 2016 Oliphant Roland 11 January 2015 Nadia Savchenko The most controversial prisoner of the war in Ukraine The Telegraph Retrieved 11 January 2015 Ukraine arrests war hero over coup plot BBC News 22 March 2018 Retrieved 22 March 2018 Regamey Amandine February 25 2016 Falsehood in the War in Ukraine the Legend of Women Snipers The Journal of Power Institutions in Post Soviet Societies 17 doi 10 4000 pipss 4222 via Centre pour l Edition Electronique Ouverte Darden Jessica Trisko May 19 2016 For a Stronger Military Draft Women Too HuffPost Taylor Alan Beauty in the Ceasefire A Pageant in Donetsk The Atlantic www theatlantic com Darden Jessica Trisko Henshaw Alexis Szekely Ora 2019 Insurgent Women Female Combatants in Civil Wars Georgetown University Press pp 18 21 ISBN 978 1 62616 666 0 Women in Ukraine Play a Critical Role in the Fight Against Russia Time Retrieved 2022 03 29 Ukrainian women stand strong against Russian invaders Washington Post 2022 03 18 Retrieved 2022 03 29 These are the women choosing to stay and fight Russian forces CNN Video 9 March 2022 retrieved 2022 03 29 O Reilly Jonathon 2022 02 03 Female volunteers move like angels in Ukrainian army as Russia tensions escalate inews co uk Retrieved 2022 03 29 Bloom Mia Moskalenko Sophia 21 March 2022 Ukraine s women fighters reflect a cultural tradition of feminist independence The Conversation Retrieved 2022 03 29 Elizondo Gabriel 17 September 2022 Ukrainian women joining the military amid Russia s invasion aljazeera com Retrieved 28 September 2022 Ukraine Announces Release of 108 Women in First All Female Prisoner Exchange with Russia Radiofreeeurope Radioliberty A Two Front Battle How Ukrainian Military Women Are Fighting For Equality ukraineworld org Retrieved 2021 07 17 Invisible in an invisible war October 21 2019 What It s Like to Be a Female in the Ukrainian Army en hromadske ua 17 March 2019 The trip from Donbas Ukraine s pressing need to defend its veterans September 21 2020 Mockery Backlash after Ukraine women troops march in heels www aljazeera com Peltier Elian Varenikova Maria July 3 2021 Why Ukrainian Army Faces Criticism for Making Women March in Heels The New York Times Richards Will 15 May 2022 Ukraine s Kalush Orchestra share powerful video for Eurovision winning song Stefania NME Retrieved 28 September 2022 Nicole Winfield and Paolo Santalucia 15 May 2022 Eurovision win in hand Ukraine band releases new war video AP NEWS Retrieved 28 September 2022 Bibliography editMartsenyuk Tamara July 2022 Women s Participation in Defending Ukraine in Russia s War PDF Global Cooperation Research A Quarterly Magazine University of Duisburg Essen 5 Retrieved 28 September 2022 Rusnak Ivan 2021 White Book 2019 2020 The Armed Forces of Ukraine and The State Special Transport Service PDF White Book Information Bulletin 97 via Ministry of Defence of Ukraine External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Women in the military of Ukraine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Women in the Ukrainian military amp oldid 1172717641, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
