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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 02/03
Women's NGOs in the System of Civil Society of Ukraine
Lyudmyla Smolyar
December 2000
Abstract
This paper reports on the contribution of women's non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to the formation of civil society in Ukraine. It is organized in five sections: gender democracy as an important part of democracy, the women's movement as an important part of gender democracy, the creation of civil society as a pre-requisite for the development of the women's movement, the social basis of the contemporary women's movement, and interaction between women's NGOs and state bodies.
The emergence and activities of contemporary women's organizations in Ukraine in the early 1990s were the results of the political and social changes that began in Ukrainian society in the late 1980s. The breakdown of the totalitarian system along with the disintegration of a monopolistic view of social processes encouraged public discussion of the status of women. The formation of new po1itica1 and socia1structures made up the real basis for the appearance of the women's movement in Ukraine. Civil society took shape with the formation of spontaneous movements, which institutionalized after the first democratic elections into a network of social associations. The proclamation of Ukraine as an independent state favoured the extraordinary advancement of this process.
At present Ukraine counts over 90 women's organizations, among them 4 international and 18 All-Ukrainian. They promote changes in legislation, enhancement of mechanisms for the improvement of the status of women, and active demonstrations that the organized women's movement is an important state-building factor. This social and political force is still young, however, and not well developed.
Two major trends have formed in the women's movement. The first, traditional, trend is connected with the revival of national customs, consolidation of the national language, morality, ethos, and education. This trend is determined by the concept of "Berehynia," a term that appeared during the "reconstruction period" and became popular after publication of Berehynia by the Ukrainian ethnographer V. Skurativs'ky. The author calls for the restoration not only of rural culture and folklore but also of the rural mentality that required children to be the respectful subordinates of parents, for a youngster to obey the elder, for a wife to obey her husband. The concept of "Berehynia" provides a historically accurate description of the status of Ukrainian woman--a patriarchal mentality, with only a superficial knowledge of the history of Ukraine. Moreover, the concept of "Berehynia" restricts itself to the role of women as housewives. Hence women's perspectives in political and other spheres of Ukrainian life are evaluated negatively. Included in the traditional trend are women's NGOs that focus on educational, humanitarian, and ecological activities. Businesswomen's groups that promote self-help and education for their members are also included in this trend.
The second, feminist, trend in the women's movement is connected with the definition of women's interests and a defense of those interests. This trend, which is currently very weak, is sometimes linked with the traditionalist trend. The reason for its weakness lies in the fact that emancipation and feminism were considered in the USSR, and are still considered in Ukrainian society, as predominantly negative phenomena. The Soviet patriarchal system, which gave formal freedom to women and allowed them to work in difficult, unhealthy, trades, never admitted them to the ruling elite. Nor did it try to convince men that family duties and child raising were their sphere as much as women's. The Soviet woman never experienced the real results of emancipation, and never joined the feminist movement. Feminist organizations are diverse in interests and small in number. At the forefront of this movement are women in the creative professions, particularly cinematography and art, followed by women in the scientific professions and in academe.
Currently only 0.2% of the female population of Ukraine participates in the work of women's associations. Women with a high level of education who are engaged mainly in the sphere of intellectual work and are aware of the problems of gender inequality, family violence, sexism in social relations, the need to instill in women self-respect and personal dignity form the vanguard of the women's movement. But they are a minority. The vast majority of members of women's public organizations are those who, due to the country's social and economic transition, have not been able to find a venue in which to apply their knowledge and skills in their professional field and have been forced out of the labour market. The narrow social base is a source of weakness for the women's movement in Ukraine. Yet there is no comprehension of the importance of the feminist movement in society. The large majority of Ukrainian men and, unfortunately, women sees the feminist movement as "an absurd prank". Numerous publications define the feminist movement as a union of women whose ambitions exceed their intellectual abilities.
Efforts to coordinate women's organizations could contribute to the dissemination of information and influence the public and political authorities, persuading them to raise and consider questions that are especially important for women. As soon as women's organizations developed their work, the problem of coordination arose. In August 1992 in Kyiv a joint session of women's societies, associations, and communities took place where the idea was put forward to "found the Ukrainian Women's Council with the aim of uniting the efforts of separate women's organizations to carry out the most important social and political tasks".
The problem of unifying the efforts of women's NGOs was actively discussed at the international conferences "Woman in the Formation of the State" (1993) and "Woman and Democracy" (1995). The Action Program for the Application of the Declaration adopted at the Conference stated: "We have to promote consolidation of efforts of national and international women's organizations in their participation in solving nation-wide and global problems. For this purpose we have to proceed to the study of international experience in the institution and functioning of nation-wide women's councils, to speed up the search for joint approaches and carry out joint actions to establish the All-Ukrainian Council of Women's Organizations, and to develop jointly a program of women's social protection".
On February 17, 1996, at their first Meeting the leaders of the All-Ukrainian women's organizations agreed to establish the Summit of Women's Public Organizations of Ukraine and issued an appeal to all women's organizations to coordinate efforts within the women's movement "with the aim of a more pronounced influence on the legislative process to implement national programs on the social and legal protection of women and children". One successful avenue of cooperation has been through United Nations development programs. In May 1997 the Gender Bureau was founded as a coordinating organization within the UN Programme "Gender in Development". Interaction between women's NGOs and governmental is largely informal and results are unpredictable. Such relations are based predominantly on personal contacts and do not possess a legitimate public character.
Five serious obstacles to the women's movement remain and must be overcome. First, deep-rooted stereotypes in Ukrainian society ignore women as individuals and limit their social to serving men and the family. Second, the current social and economic difficulties force women to work two shifts - one at the office or at the factory and the other at home--as a result of which many women are deprived of the opportunity to take part in public activity. Third, the general public is unwilling to perceive the women's movement as a significant and influential factor in the development of the social process. Fourth, insufficient information on the women's movement is available to the Ukrainian population as periodicals rarely cover issues connected with the women's movement. Fifth, gender studies are not recognized as a legitimate field of scientific research. Finally, there is as yet insufficient desire for consolidation on the part of ordinary women members of the movement. Lack of experience in organizational work, absence of the necessary administrative skills, and ethical problems further complicate this final obstacle.
