Gendered Aspects of the War in Ukraine

On February 24, 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Current estimates of displacement and humanitarian needs in Ukraine recognize over 5.9 million internally displaced people, over eight million refugees in neighboring countries, and at least 17.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. While this war has had devastating consequences for all populations of Ukrainians, it has disproportionately affected women and girls. Some materializations include increases in gender-based violence (GBV), higher rates of child marriage, and increases in women’s and girls’ unpaid domestic workloads. However, there are also deeper elements underlying the crisis in Ukraine, which reinforce traditional gender roles and harmful treatment of gender and sexual minorities. 

Gender manifests itself even in the basic framing of the war. When Russian President Vladimir Putin describes the war and his invasion of Ukraine, he does so in a way that exudes hegemonic masculinity. This kind of masculinity emphasizes idealized perceptions of men, rewarding aggression as a demonstration of power. Putin depicts Russia as a masculine entity exerting its influence and control over Ukraine, which he presents as feminine. This use of gendered language exemplifies how gender is an integral part of this crisis, as well as how ideas of masculinities and femininities weave through all systems and institutions. Framing the invasion in this way also reinforces the gender binary and hierarchy at the state level, which furthers their manifestation at the individual level.

There are two predominant presentations of the women involved in this crisis, as victims and as soldiers. The main representation of Ukrainian women during this war is as victims. Most mentions of women and girls during wartime revolve around being victims of GBV, conflict-related sexual violence, and displacement, with deep-rooted patriarchal attitudes normalizing GBV and victim-blaming. Traditional gender norms reinforce the idea that women belong at home caring for the family and that men are the decision-makers and should be the ones fighting to protect their families and country. Most media coverage also positions women as victims without agency, using images of pregnant women and young girls to garner sympathy and advocate for aid and intervention. Representing these women as passive victims is also harmful for men, assuming that all men will take on the role of protector and do so willingly.

The other dominant representation of women revolves around their militarization. Women soldiers only gained the same status as men in 2018, with the removal of legislation keeping women from assuming combat positions. Since the invasion of Ukraine last February, women have been enlisting in record numbers, increasing from 14,000 to around 60,000. Ukraine has emphasized this unexpected increase in the number of women soldiers as a positive step toward gender equality. This positive emphasis extends the heightened militarization of Ukrainian society to women, specifically by praising their increased enlistment. While the public and the media describe these women soldiers with a stronger sense of agency, they often still emphasize the women’s roles as mothers and wives rather than their independent identities, reinforcing traditional gender roles and expectations.

Gendered aspects of the war are also present in the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. Homophobia and transphobia, already significant in Ukraine, have become more pervasive because of the conflict. The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association ranks Ukraine 39 out of 49 European countries in its overall treatment of LGBTQ+ people, with Russia ranked 46. Ukraine has forced universal conscription for men, preventing trans women from leaving the country because their official identification documents still mark them as male. Changing those gender markers is not an easily achievable option because government mandates require trans people to undergo extensive psychiatric observation first. Fleeing Ukraine presents additional challenges because of discriminatory laws in surrounding countries like Poland and Hungary that target members of the LGBTQ+ community. However, there are also safety concerns related to remaining in Ukraine due to fears of increased persecution under Russian occupation. 

While conflict does perpetuate discrimination against groups like women and the LGBTQ+ community, there are policy options available to address and rectify this. One way of combating these harmful gender norms and stereotypes is for Ukraine to add provisions challenging these ideas to its National Action Plan (NAP) under the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda. Member states of the United Nations use National Action Plans to implement the WPS agenda, and many countries have developed several generations of their NAPs. Ukraine is already planning to update its NAP ahead of schedule in response to the Russian invasion, which provides the opportunity to target restrictive norms directly. Another option for mitigating the gendered impacts of the crisis is to institute aid and security provisions for trans people specifically. This could include eliminating the government requirement for psychiatric observation and creating safe spaces specifically in the context of humanitarian assistance since trans people often lack access to essential services and shelter. These recommendations could alleviate the more immediate gendered effects of the conflict, although significant change requires solutions that address the more deeply-rooted patriarchal attitudes and traditional gender roles.

Author: Brianna Zimmermann

Managing Editor: Sebastian Reyes

Web Editor: Anusha Tamhane