The red shoes of Transnistrian women

Tiraspol. Photo by Clay Gilliland (CC) www.flickr.com

Today, these problems still exist and are some of the most fundamental issues Transnistrian women face, says Alexandra Telpis, a representative of Apriori. In response, a Transnistrian platform for preventing violence against women (which together brings 15 organisations in total, including Apriori) recently organised the public campaign “Red Shoe” in memory of the victims of domestic violence. During the campaign, dozens of women joined “the open microphone” to share their stories of survival against domestic violence. The 2017 edition of “Red Shoe” was dedicated to Elena, who was killed by her violent partner. 

Traditional roles

The 2011 UN HIV Vulnerability Survey found that in Transnistria almost one-quarter (22 per cent) of the interviewed women who were married or living in partnership had been subjected to physical abuse from a husband or partner. More than one-third of all women interviewed had suffered physical violence from male perpetrators, at least once in their lives. One in every 17 married woman said they were exposed to sexual violence by their current or former husband or partner.

“Domestic violence is a norm for many people; that is why the authorities cannot do much applying the anti-violence laws,” Telpis admits. According to the Hammarberg report, the role of women in society of the region is still largely seen as the protector of the domestic life, despite the fact women today are equal partners to men on the labour market, and often provide basic income for the family. Family life, he says, remains divided into traditional male and female responsibilities. The persistence of traditional gender roles is also reflected in the representation of women in politics in the self-proclaimed Transnistrian republic. For instance, only two out of 43 members of the Supreme Council are women.

“Generally, gender equality is supported by the population only in the abstract but not in concrete reality,” states Hammarberg. This finding is also reflected in the profiles of a majority of Transnistrian NGOs dealing with women issues. Telpis remarks that “there are only organisations working in the sphere of domestic violence, human trafficking and economic rights, there are no feminist movements as such.” Documentary photographer and PR manager of the Resonance Centre for Civic Initiatives, Anna Galatoniva, adds that “these organisations are called women organisations only because women are more vulnerable to violence and trafficking”.

A widespread strategy of the female NGOs in Transnistria is the creation of social services for domestic abuse survivors. For instance, Resonance empowers women in the workforce by organising trainings on entrepreneurship. It has also created the only shelter in Transnistria (it can host seven to nine women and children in crisis situations). But needless to say only one shelter in Transnistria is not enough. For this reason, an NGO called Women Initiatives helps survivors of domestic violence find treatment and rehabilitation. It also provides legal and psychological support in their offices in Tiraspol.

Another NGO called Interaction has, in co-operation with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), set up a phone helpline – called the Trust Line. It is offered to victims of domestic violence as a preventive measure to stop human trafficking. The number of calls Trust Line receives has increased every year since it was established in 2009. Interaction, together with IOM, has rescued dozens of Transnistrian women and girls from being trafficked.

Same problems, different approaches

There are some issues Transnistrian women are subjected to because of the unrecognised status of the republic. For example, the testimonies given by Resonance and Apriori to the UN Committee on elimination of discrimination against women show that there are cases when men flee Transnistria to Chișinău (the capital of Moldova) and thus are sheltered from paying alimony. Single mothers, as a result, are left without any means to survive. On the other hand, Alina Andronache, a member of a Moldovan platform for gender equality (which unites around 26 organisations and activists) says that the issues faced by women from the territories controlled by Tiraspol and Chișinău are the same. Unfortunately, there has been little co-operation to tackle them jointly.

Andronache is one of the main organisers of feminist marches held annually on International Women’s Day in Chișinău. No Transnistrian NGO has officially joined the marches thus far, and there are no feminist marches or even informal feminist groups in Tiraspol. “There is nothing that looks like feminism in Transnistria, no feminist agenda,” says Karolina Dutka, a young Transnistrian artist.

Dutka’s documentary photo project on survivors of domestic violence was one of the few public reactions to the global #MeToo campaign in Transnistria. She portrayed survivors of sexual violence together with their stories. One of her earlier documentary projects on the LGBT community in Transnistria provoked a strong reaction, both from the authorities of the region and the general public. Dutka said that the lesbian women from the region, who were represented in the photo project, expressed a lot of fear despite the fact that their identities were portrayed anonymously.

“Due to the patriarchal politics in Transnistria, the NGOs cannot openly and vocally defend women’s rights. Each NGO that wants to work in Transnistria on gender issues has to negotiate and ask for permission from the security forces,” Andronache explains.

Telpis adds: “In contrast to Transnistria, on the other side of the Dniester River [i.e. in Moldova], there are women organisations and movements that deal not only with domestic violence and trafficking, but also with women’s role in society and campaigning for sexual consent reform. This is unfortunate, because mentality is what leads to violence.”

Activists from the region believe that there is an urgent need for the men and women of Transnistria to be better informed and realise that the problem of gender inequality is real. As they say, only with awareness can a real feminist movement in the region emerge.

“It should start in schools, where children should be explained how gender stereotypes influence our lives,” says Galatonova. Telpis adds that the media should also be aware of the messages they send to the wider public on gender roles.

“These changes will take time. For now I think that art is the only instrument to promote gender equality in Transnistria,” Galatonova believes. Together with Telpis and other activists, she is working on the second edition of a documentary festival that will raise a variety of social issues in the de facto state.

“I hope that thanks to my projects people will rethink the norms,” concludes Dutka, who is working on a new project on feminism and the attitudes of women. 

Empowering the oppressed

Thanks to support from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a sustainable community development platform was created last year which will facilitate co-operation between NGOs and initiative groups, helping persons with disabilities in the Transnistrian region to get their voices heard.

Transnistrian women with disabilities have been proactive in creating the platform. According to local media and activists, they face a range of issues from social stigma to access education and work. “We are people with disabilities and we demonstrate to society that we have potential, which we hope can lead to peace and equality,” says Emma Martyniuk in an interview with newsmpr.com. She is a member of the platform and leader of a Transnistrian NGO focusing on youths with disabilities.

Another active Transnistrian woman with disabilities is Ecaterina Sochirca, who, as an intern with the United Nations office in Moldova, has demonstrated her ability. In an interview with the UN in Moldova Magazine, Sochirca confessed that after graduating from university she could not find a job because of her visual impairment. After getting six months of experience with the UN, she will now fight for her rights saying “This internship gave me power to follow my dream in finding an interesting job. I am sure that I want to inform people from my community about how it is possible to claim your rights.”

Roma women are another stigmatised social group in both Moldova and Transnistria. In April this year, there was the first ever roundtable discussion on Roma rights organised in Tiraspol with the support of the UN OHCHR Office. Around 90 participants attended the event, including some high level officials from the unrecognised republic.

One of the speakers from the Transnistrian side, a young Roma woman named Sofia Raducanu, confessed that she graduated from the faculty of law but had to quit her career aspirations because of family responsibilities – as Roma women are still expected to fulfil a traditional role in society. She said that she was amazed by the kind of activism that the Roma women’s platform was doing in Chișinău and expressed her willingness to also help create a similar platform in Tiraspol.

Marina Shupac is a human rights journalist with NewsMaker.md, an online Moldova-based publication. She is former a minority rights fellow at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and a former European Parliament Sakharov Fellow.