{"id":1785,"date":"2023-01-31T10:03:04","date_gmt":"2023-01-31T10:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/?p=1785"},"modified":"2023-02-07T10:08:18","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T10:08:18","slug":"ukraine-war-attitudes-to-women-in-the-military-are-changing-as-thousands-serve-on-front-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/index.php\/ukraine-war-attitudes-to-women-in-the-military-are-changing-as-thousands-serve-on-front-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war: attitudes to women in the military are changing as thousands serve on front\u00a0lines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jennifer Mathers<\/a>, Aberystwyth University<\/a><\/em> and Anna Kvit<\/a>, UCL<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Thousands of women have voluntarily joined Ukraine\u2019s armed forces since 2014<\/a>, when Russia\u2019s occupation of Crimea and territories in eastern Ukraine began. Over the past nine years, the number of women serving in the Ukrainian military has more than doubled, with another wave of women joining after Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion in February 2022. <\/p>\n

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Women have served in Ukraine\u2019s armed forces since the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, but were mainly in supporting roles until the beginning of the war in 2014. They started serving in combat roles in 2016<\/a> and all military roles were opened to women in 2022<\/a>. However, many women in non-combat roles, such as medics<\/a>, are exposed to the same dangers and hardships as their male and female colleagues who fire the weapons. <\/p>\n

According to Ukraine\u2019s deputy minister of defence, Hanna Maliar, by the summer of 2022 more than 50,000 women were employed by the armed forces<\/a> in some capacity, with approximately 38,000 serving in uniform. Women are now with units on the front lines. <\/p>\n

Women in the armed forces are being taken as prisoners-of-war by the Russians. Ukrainian medic Yulia Paevska<\/a> was imprisoned for three months<\/a> . \u201cThe treatment was very hard, very rough \u2026 The women and I were all exhausted,\u201d she told Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Patriarchal attitudes are changing<\/h2>\n

Ukraine is a country with strong patriarchal traditions<\/a>, especially in the defence sector. But Ukraine\u2019s women soldiers are increasingly being accepted by Ukrainian society and the country\u2019s political leadership during this war. <\/p>\n

One indication of the recognition of women\u2019s presence in the military and society\u2019s rating of their contributions was when National Defenders\u2019 Day was renamed in 2021 as the Day of Men and Women Defenders of Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And there are other indications. Images of servicewomen<\/a> are now regularly used by the ministry of defence in its social media posts. Ukraine\u2019s women soldiers are also often in the news, talking about their military experiences<\/a>. There are also approximately 8,000 women officers<\/a> as of October 2022, and one of Ukraine\u2019s deputy defence ministers is a woman<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But the presence of women in the Ukrainian armed forces has not been without controversy. Some analysts warn<\/a> against assuming that the photographs and videos in the news and on social media showing women on the front lines means that they enjoy equality with the men they serve beside.<\/p>\n

Boots that don\u2019t fit<\/h2>\n

Ukraine\u2019s women soldiers still have to overcome scepticism from commanders and fellow soldiers about their commitment and abilities, obstacles to promotion and career development, as well as difficulties with practical \u2013 and vitally important \u2013 matters such as getting uniforms, body armour and boots that fit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Women are also more exposed to sexual violence. Many Ukrainian female combatants mention in interviews with journalists that they must avoid captivity by any means<\/a> and that they are ready to die rather than being captured by the Russians.<\/p>\n

A major research project, Invisible Battalion<\/a>, began in 2015 and has shed light on the conditions of military service for Ukrainian women. Led by a group of Ukrainian sociologists (including Anna Kvit, one of the authors of this article), it identified legal barriers to women\u2019s employment in the defence and security sector, as well as obstacles to their access to military education and training. These regulations had prevented women<\/a> in the military from occupying a range of technical and leadership positions.<\/p>\n

Not only have many of these formal obstacles now been removed, but gender advisers and audits have been introduced to encourage a military culture that is more welcoming for women. In families where both parents are serving in the armed forces, parental leave is no longer the exclusive preserve of mothers. <\/p>\n

Social attitudes towards women soldiers have also improved a great deal over the past few years. For example, the percentage of Ukrainians who agreed that women in the military should be granted equal opportunities with men increased dramatically from 53% in 2018 to 80% in 2022<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Looking ahead to post-war Ukrainian society, it is hard to predict whether these more positive public attitudes towards women soldiers will translate into greater acceptance of women in the relatively new role of war veteran. A follow-up study conducted for the Invisible Battalion project in 2017 revealed that women veterans struggled to have their status recognised by both government officials and civilians. This meant difficulties in accessing public services for veterans and in making the transition back to civilian life.<\/p>\n

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