The Feminist Movement in War-Torn Ukraine: Challenges and Opportunities

All wars are gendered: they affect gender perceptions, relations, and roles as well as the social positions of women and men. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created various challenges for women, including increased gender-based violence, the growing burden of unpaid care work (especially for the wives and mothers of wounded soldiers), and the deepening feminisation of poverty.

Most war refugees are women with children. Feminised sectors, such as education, healthcare, and social work, which are of key importance for overcoming the social consequences of war, face an escalating burden. Additionally, women’s political representation and media visibility have diminished. The war has also created challenges for Ukrainian feminism, including how to address humanitarian issues, support vulnerable groups of women, and ensure that women’s issues are not sidelined.

When Ukraine entered the war, it had established state gender-equality policies, had made progress in reducing gender gaps, and had a robust feminist movement. In 2024, Ukraine celebrated the 140th anniversary of the country’s women’s movement. The first organisations whose goals and activities could be defined as feminist began their work in the second half of the 1990s. Since then, these organisations have become diverse in their work and ideological direction. In a 2024 survey by the Ukrainian Women’s Foundation, only 19 per cent of the 190 representatives of feminist organisations surveyed viewed the movement as still in its formative stage, while 40 per cent saw it as mature.

Despite progress, attitudes towards feminism remain sceptical, with many believing that gender equality has already been achieved and associating feminism with radicalism or misandry. However, attitudes towards feminism are becoming more favourable, particularly among younger, urban, and highly educated women. The growing participation in International Women’s Day marches, held annually on 8 March in different Ukrainian cities from 2008 until the war, when mass gatherings were prohibited, may reflect this shift.

Hindrances to feminism during war

The war in Ukraine has hindered feminism in the country in several ways, including by creating a gendered citizenship regime in the context of military service and by deprioritising the topic of gender equality in the context of security threats.

First, the war has introduced a new gendered citizenship regime. Women in Ukraine have been eligible to serve in the professional army since 2014. Military service is not compulsory for civilian women, while civilian men are obliged to serve and their rights in wartime are restricted: for example, most of them are prohibited from travelling abroad.

Ukrainian society is not consolidated on the issue of gendered military service. In a 2024 representative national survey, 54 per cent of respondents viewed defence as a ‘male’ responsibility, while 46 per cent believed both men and women should be involved. This situation complicates feminist dialogue, especially in discussions of military mobilisation, and can make public communication on feminist issues more challenging. It can also hinder men’s involvement in the gender-equality movement, as some men question whether feminists support mandatory military service for men or are in favour of gender equality in matters of military conscription.

Second, although there is no expectation of a conservative gender turn during or after the war in Ukraine, women’s interests are being deprioritised in the context of security challenges, and their political influence is limited. The war has shifted the country’s focus towards survival, national security, and economic recovery, making gender equality and broader social issues seem secondary.

Third, there is public censorship, including self-censorship, in discussions of certain issues that are important for the feminist agenda, such as domestic violence in veterans’ families or sexual harassment in the military, because of the glorification of soldiers and the high position of the military in wartime.

Opportunities to promote feminist values

Despite these challenges, there are several opportunities to advance feminist values, linked to the geopolitical context of the war and the visibility of new roles for women.

First, an appeal to the requirements of European integration can be a good entry point for promoting feminist values ​​and policies. For example, Ukraine signed the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, in 2011; but despite years of advocacy from the women’s movement, Ukraine did not ratify the convention for over a decade because of resistance from conservative, religious groups and politicians.

In June 2022, just before Ukraine was granted EU candidate country status, the Ukrainian parliament unexpectedly ratified the Сonvention. While this step may have been instrumentalised to signal Ukraine’s alignment with EU gender-equality policies and assert its European identity, it nonetheless represents an important shift in the country’s official stance.

Second, Ukraine’s desire to distance itself from Russia’s cultural and political agenda creates an opportunity to strengthen gender equality and advance LGBTQ+ people’s rights. Anti-gender rhetoric is a key component of the so-called Russian world narrative, which frames Russia’s war against Ukraine as a cultural and ideological battle against gender and ‘Western values’. In this context, anti-gender movements in Ukraine can be associated with Russia’s cultural and political agenda, which may reduce their political and public legitimacy.

Third, the war has changed the roles played by women. Women’s active participation in the military resistance, their increasing presence in traditionally male professions, and the rise of women’s leadership in communities and volunteering provide significant opportunities to challenge patriarchal gender roles. A 2023 national representative survey revealed that 80 per cent of Ukrainians associate the image of a war veteran with both genders. Meanwhile, the percentage of Ukrainians who believe that ‘men are better leaders than women’ dropped from 43 per cent in 2021 to 24 per cent in 2023, according to another survey.

The need for vigilance

These shifts offer fertile ground for advancing feminist ideas and promoting gender equality in war-torn Ukrainian society. While the war has created dramatic challenges for women and the feminist movement in Ukraine, the movement remains an active and important agent of gender-transformative changes. Although there are no signs of a conservative gender turn in Ukraine as a result of the war, Ukrainian women’s organisations should be vigilant to preserve the progress made. That is because as the experiences of some democratic countries show, such progress is easy to lose, even when the path to gender equality seems irreversible.

Dr Olena Strelnyk is a fellow at the Ukraine Research Network@ZOiS, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, where she works on the project ‘Seeing Invisible: (Gendered) Experiences of Family Elderly Care in Ukraine’.