All of Ukrainian society has been engaged in resisting Russia’s ongoing invasion for over two years. This includes various women leaders, whose skills and experience have allowed them to become vocal advocates for the war-torn country.

The political events of 2020 in Belarus have fundamentally changed the dynamics of Belarusian emigration. Although the Belarusian exodus has not yet ceased, the Russian war in Ukraine has resulted in a second great wave. For many, it was the last straw, a powerful trigger, the point of no return.

The changes in Poland’s abortion law were set in motion by PiS and the judges that it installed. Where the debate ends on this matter will be up to a new generation of Polish women.

In October 2020 the election to Lithuanian parliament (the Seimas) took place and brought new political power to Lithuania for the upcoming four years. More women have been empowered in leadership – the three parties that will make up the centre right coalition are led by women. This election marks a change in Lithuania’s political culture and gives more assurance for trust, democracy and gender equality.

During the two rounds of elections to the Seimas on October 11th and 25th, 141 parliamentarians were elected to represent Lithuania’s parliament for the next four years. The results of the elections show that the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats won the elections with the most seats (50) in the Seimas. The previous ruling party, the Lithuanian Peasant Popular Party, won 32 seats while the Social Democrats and the Liberal Movement received 13 mandates each. The Freedom Party, founded in 2019, won 11 seats, and the Labour Party won 10 seats. The new ruling coalition was formed by the Homeland Union, the Liberal Movement and the Freedom Party, which together secured a majority of 74 seats.

The topic of women in protests has not been on the agenda in Russia until the election campaign in Belarus. And then we suddenly saw them – strong, stylish, beautiful, and, most importantly, exuding love not hate.

The unexpected female dimension of the Belarusian opposition has made it fresh, emotional and empowering. These three women who did not give up after the most popular candidates were eliminated from the election race gave people “a last hope for change”. The women were authentic, they told personal stories, talked about love and asked people to believe in themselves.

Inspiring images of the Belarusian revolutionary female trio of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Maria Kalesnikava and Veranika Tsapkala as well as the numerous images of women peacefully protesting after the falsified August election, seem to have reached every corner of the globe. International audiences admired their strength, courage and wholesomeness. The high visibility and important role of women in the mass protests is not unique to Belarus, however.

Women have played a central role since the very beginning of the protests in Belarus.

After a long political struggle against the Islamic opposition, Tajikistan's government initiated a “traditional-national” policy, according to which women should wear “traditional-national” garments. This objectification of female body serves to perpetuate the political power of the ruling elite.

This piece originally appeared in Issue 6/2016 of New Eastern Europe. Subscribe now.

Belarus, often called “the last dictatorship of Europe,” is a truly remarkable country in political terms. There are few other places where elections are rigged in such an open way and where, for over 12 years, opposition politicians have not set foot in the parliament. However, the latest parliamentary election in Belarus has brought some surprising results. Two opposition politicians were elected, among the other 108, to the Belarusian House of Representatives. Even more surprising is the gender of the selected politicians, as they are both women.

Another conference on Polish foreign policy, focusing on the so-called post-Soviet space. Another embarrassment. Again – an all-male panel. Not a single woman, although there are plenty of female specialists, experts, journalists and former and current employees of the diplomatic corps in Poland. Not only are there more women than men graduating with degrees in politics, international relations, European studies, Eastern studies and so on (not to mention that they tend to have higher academic achievements), but in the leading analytical centres and magazines there are plenty of female specialists in the region, who can make serious arguments and ought not have to sit in the back of conference rooms, waiting to be allowed to ask their male colleagues proudly sitting in the panel a polite question during Q-and-A.

Women in the Russian republic of Chechnya have never been under such pressure as they are today. Yet not much has been written about their role, their place in society, and their rights in Chechnya and in other North Caucasus conflicts.