The Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, co-founder of the Ukrainian Women’s Congress Olena Kondratiuk opened the 7th Ukrainian Women’s Congress.
The event takes place in Kyiv on 22-23 November. Within the framework of the UWC, discussions will be held on 6 thematic panels with the participation of more than 50 speakers.
“We have chosen the title of the 7th Ukrainian Women’s Congress “Women’s Leadership. Time for Recovery. Time to rebuild” because the war is exacerbating all the challenges faced by women. The war actually reduces us to everyday problems –where to get strength, how to overcome pain, fatigue, despair, how to protect children, where to get money,” said Olena Kondratiuk, opening the Congress.
According to her, the participants of the Congress are confident in Ukraine’s victory and that our society after the Victory should become an example of realisation of faith in justice and a new quality of life.
“But why should we postpone building such a society until after the Victory? We must stop putting it off until better times – we must believe in ourselves, we must be open to partnership, and we must be persistent,” said Olena Kondratiuk in her speech.
The Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also noted that Ukrainian women demonstrate uniqueness during the war.
“When we are weak, we help others to become stronger. Women protect, heal, teach, and volunteer in times of war! Ordinary women doing extraordinary things! This is our vision of the future. A vision that we must not lose while solving our daily problems. It is our vision and our insistence, and I mean the Ukrainian Women’s Congress, that have already led to significant changes in the topic of gender equality,” emphasised Olena Kondratiuk.
The co-founder of the UWC reminded that the list of more than 450 professions prohibited for women was cancelled and the law on equal rights and opportunities for men and women in military service was adopted.
“Gender quotas in party election lists have been set at 40%. The Istanbul Convention was adopted. Responsibility for domestic and gender-based violence has been strengthened,” emphasised Olena Kondratiuk.
The Strategy for Implementation of Gender Equality in Education and the Strategy for Overcoming the Gender Pay Gap were also adopted.
“These are achievements that we can and should be proud of! And we do not intend to stop! Our goal is to achieve parity in the participation of women and men in the reconstruction of Ukraine, to enable women to influence processes and decisions without discrimination and glass ceilings,” shared her future plans the Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk.