The overlooked impact of the conflict on the livelihood of women and young girls.
Women in Ukraine are currently fighting their own undocumented war. Suffering in horrible, inhumane conditions being innocently targeting simple because of their gender.
Due to the invasion, women’s healthcare has become extremely vulnerable causing insecurities in access to services. Women already had limited access to generic services however in the midst of this, access has been even further constricted specifically in terms of sexual and reproductive care. A picture of a deceased pregnant woman clutching her belly went viral to demonstrate the dire conditions. (Warning: the picture may be sensitive). An estimate suggests nearly 80,000 women are likely to give birth in the next 3 months in Ukraine however the current unstable conditions will make this extremely dangerous and life-threatening to do so. In war and post-war states, maternal mortality is increased to become 2.5 times higher than the average rate.
In the midst of the petrifying and continuous bombings and attacks by the Russian military, Ukrainian women fight daily giving birth in underground train stations and watching their fellow sisters, friends, and women get stripped of their basic rights. They have become victims in this already difficult time of sexual exploitation and abuse. During conflicts, violence against women and girls, including sexual attacks and exploitation increases two to three times. There have been horrifying claims of Russian soldiers raping Ukrainian women and minor girls as young as 10 years old.
Strong patriarchal culture and deeply rooted genre stereotypes and norms existing in Eastern Europe are causing women to take on additional familial and community burdens. This has been further exacerbated by the launch of the Ukrainian government’s order of men aged between 18-40 to stay back and fight for their country, it has left the women having to handle caregiving responsibilities however without any income they are unable to handle the increasing load. According to the International Organisation for Migration (IMO), women and children account for over 50% of the 10 million people who have thought to have fled from Ukraine. The impact of this load has extremely damaging consequences for the women’s capability to grieve and cope resulting in long-lasting mental health concerns for example anxiety, trauma and depression.
The Russian-Ukraine conflict has highlighted the existing gender roles that existed in Eastern Europe and created new ones negatively impacting women in the process.
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