Belarus’ anti-authoritarian movement and women’s rights: Female activism in times of terror and war

Moderator:

Tatsiana Chulitskaya, Research Associate Oxford Belarus Observatory (OBO), Fellow Researcher Vilnius University

Speakers:

Elena Gapova, Professor at Department of Sociology, Western Michigan University; Founding Director of Centre for Gender Studies at European Humanities University

Anastasia Kostyugova, Co-founder of Stratcomlab, Media Expert, Co-founder of the Women in White Movement

Alena Aharelysheva, Master of Arts in Sociology, Gender Studies; Member of Fem Group Coordination Council Belarus

Veranika Laputska, Co-founder, EAST Centre, Poland

Belarusian women have been at the forefront of the anti-authoritarian movement in Belarus since 2020. According to the Belarusian human rights centre Viasna, there are around 200 women political prisoners, including students, activists, political scientists, and even pensioners. Joining in large numbers and acting as visible leaders, women stood together to confront the authoritarian patriarchy, and continue challenging the existing gender norms expressing their opposition to and disdain of Lukashenka’s regime.

The fight for women’s rights and equality thus connects with a broader fight against the repressive nature of Belarus’ regime, and more widely, with a transition movement for democratic change and women’s rights, as highlighted by SDG 5 ‘Gender Equality’ of the United Nations’ commitment for a more just and sustainable world. Since the 2020 fraudulent elections, what is the current situation with Belarusian female activism and gender equality demands for justice against violence in Belarus? How has the female-led resistance evolved and what forms it takes now, in particular in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine? And how does female activism continue to challenge the increasingly repressive authoritarianism in Belarus? These and other questions will be discussed in a panel discussion organised by the Oxford Belarus Observatory, in partnership with the Research Centre of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Office, and the IGSD, University of Warwick.

Please register here.

The discussion will be held online via ZOOM with simultaneous Belarusian translation and recorded. Also, you can follow the discussion via live streaming on Twitter and YouTube.