This year, International Women’s Day looks slightly different to those we have celebrated in the past. With the current humanitarian crisis taking place in Ukraine, we feel the women making history with their life-changing advocacy and brave actions deserve to be kept in our thoughts today, and every day.
Kira Rudik
Rudik is a member of Ukraine’s parliament, and she is currently staying in Kyiv to defend and advocate for her people, whilst taking matters of the Russian invasion into her own hands. This includes learning how to use a Kalashnikov rifle, in which she said “holding a Kalashnikov gives me hope”. She feels Putin underestimates the power and strength of the women of Ukraine.
Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska
Whilst being at her husband, Ukrainian president Zelensky’s side throughout this crisis, Olena has used her platform to speak the truth, no matter how brutal or candid this is. She hopes that sharing this truth will help the people of Russia understand the damage that is being done to Ukraine, with one of her recent posts sharing heartbreaking photos of Ukrainian children who have been killed as a result of the Russian attacks.
She ended her posts by saying;
“Show these photos to Russian women – your husbands, brothers, compatriots are killing Ukrainian children! Let them know that they are personally responsible for the death of every Ukrainian child because they gave their tacit consent to these crimes.”
Olena also took to Instagram to honour the women of Ukraine, sharing that the current resistance has a particularly female face;
“Before the war I once wrote that there are two million more women in Ukraine than men. Statistics are just like that. And now it takes on a whole new meaning. Because this means our current resistance has a particularly female face. My admiration and bow to you, incredible compatriots!”
“To those who fight…to those who heal, save, feed. And to those who continue to do their usual job – in pharmacies, shops, on transport, in utilities, so that life lasts and wins. To those who take children to shelters every day without panic and entertain them with games and cartoons to save children’s consciousness from war. To those who give birth in bomb storage.”
Ambassador Oksana Markarova
Oksana Markarova is the Ukrainian ambassador for the United Nations, and she has been following the lead of her boss, Zelensky, in ensuring she uses all media platforms to persuade the international community to rally together in support of Ukraine. From defending her country and advocating for Ukrainian’s human rights, she is a woman who we are grateful for today.
Ellison Barber
If you have been following the crisis on news channels and social media, you may have seen the viral clip of Barber’s broadcast being interrupted by a young girl who wanted Ellison to play football with her. Barber is just one of the women in journalism who is risking her life whilst being out in Ukraine to keep the world informed of the events unfolding.
European Union President Ursula von der Leyen
Ursula von der Leyen is another woman who is using her platform and position to advocate for the Ukrainian people’s rights. Currently, she is pushing for the eradication of fossil fuels, and looking for the EU to stop depending on Russian gas, oil and coal. By implementing these sanctions on Russia, their economy will hugely suffer, in turn impacting Putin.
Ursula shared this clip for International Women’s Day, highlighting the incredible Ukrainian women who are dedicating their time to supporting their community.
Refugee Centre Staff
With the people of Ukraine being forced to flee their country, refugee centres are a crucial part of aiding the transition for the emotionally and physically exhausted Ukrainian refugees. The largest percentage of Ukrainian refugees have fled to Poland, with many firstly stopping at Korczowa, a nearby town on the Ukrainian-Polish border. The Korczowa refugee centre has around 2000 camp beds set up, with an expected 700 people sleeping there a night. The staff of refugee centres work 24 hours a day to ensure help is available for the Ukrainian refugees, and for that, we feel they need to be mentioned.
The Women Of Ukraine
At the epicentre of this crisis is the people of Ukraine. It is hard to comprehend the emotional trauma they are currently dealing with, with women forced to leave their homes and uproot their family’s lives, or send their children to safer locations whilst they stay in Ukraine. The desperation for safety has never been so apparent, particularly in a recent news story where Yulia Volodymyrivna Pisecka had to stay in Zaporizhzhia to care for her sick mother, forcing her to send her 11-year-old son on a 600-mile journey to the Slovakian border on his own. Yulia had written a relative’s phone number on his hand, ensuring he had somewhere to stay when he reached the border.
More recently, as a result of the Russian attacks on Irpin, Ukrainians were forced to flee the city. Pictured above, we see an elderly lady having to endure a tough, physically demanding evacuation, a situation no elderly woman should have to face.
These are just two examples of the tough decisions and situations being faced by mothers and women in Ukraine, and we can’t imagine how difficult this must be.
This International Women’s Day, we are grateful to those who are making history by fighting for Ukrainian rights, and we are keeping the brave women of Ukraine in our thoughts.
If you would like to learn how you can support Ukraine, you can find out more here.
Words By Nadia Clasper
Photo Credit: Hindustan News Hub
