Russia-Ukraine Crisis from the Feminist Lens

Abstract: The Russia-Ukraine crisis marked the beginning of the massive armed conflict in Europe ever since the end of the Second World War. Perceptions regarding borders, conflicts etc., as propagated by the traditional understanding of International Relations have largely been masculine in its approach. Women and gender minorities in spite of being the worst sufferers of these conflicts are excluded from the processes of negotiations and diplomacy. While the traditional masculine notions of IR were not effective in resolving these confrontations along the borders, the Russia-Ukraine crisis calls for the employment of a feminist and peace-building approach in dealing with the issue. This article therefore analyses the recent crisis in Europe from the feminist perspective and tries to provide a possible solution to the conflict.

The world witnessed the first massive conflict breaking out in Europe since the Second World War and taking the shape of a full-fledged war on 24^th February, 2022. As NATO tried to expand itself into Ukraine, Russia, threatened by the rising influence of the western security bloc in the region, attacked its neighbouring country along its eastern frontier. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia dates back to 2014 with the Ukrainian government and the Russian-backed separatists fighting for gaining control over the highly industrialized zones of Donetsk and Luhansk. Armed battles resulted in the separatists securing control over one-third of these provinces. Several agreements were signed between the countries to stop the further spread of war and reduce further casualties. However, these agreements were never implemented properly which resulted in the birth of a trench war. Both the countries deployed huge number of troops along the 420 km long frontline which passed through a densely populated zone, separating families and compelling innumerable people to shift to other locations. With the heavy presence of military, the economy and development of the region were severely affected and once the industrially developed zone was transformed into the world’s most mine-contaminated area.

Russia does not view the close proximity between Ukraine and NATO in a positive way and suspects a potential danger stemming from Ukraine becoming a part of NATO. Besides, it wants its security demands to be accepted by the western nations. The militarised tension along Russia-Ukraine border has attracted worldwide attention due to intense geostrategic importance of the region. However, the invasion of Russia has garnered worldwide criticism and condemnation with nearly every country upholding the view that Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity should not be compromised in the United Nations. The western countries have threatened Russia with enormous consequences if it does not withdraw from Ukraine. Besides, the intense military conflict along the frontline puts the security and safety of those living along the borders at stake and thus amplifies the need to adopt a feminist outlook to examine the situation and investigate a possible solution for this.

The need for de-escalation demands unified and cooperative diplomatic efforts in the international domain. However, mere agreements for strategic and military safety would never ensure peace and the underlying aspects are much more complex. It is quite evident that in any war, humanitarian crisis results in further worsening and deepening of the existing inequalities within the patriarchal system.

The current Ukraine crisis and the traditional methods of security have been employed to deal with this. However, the situation demands need of a feminist approach in dealing with the crisis. In fact, the urgent need to depart from the traditional masculinized understanding of security and establish a framework which would enable the analysis of the humanitarian dimensions of the crisis. Feminist approach challenges the traditional norms and values of security and prefers to view the idea of security from the prism of human rights. It incorporates the details of gender dynamics in the domain of international politics, its impact on conflicts and the effects they have on the social segment.

While analysing the Ukrainian crisis from this approach, the primary focus should rest on the impact the conflict renders on the women on both sides of the border. It is quite evident that in the absence of equal socio-political positions of men and women, gender security remains a massively unattained goal. The inherent masculinities of international politics were once again invoked by the absence of women from the negotiation delegates of both Russia and Ukraine. Since the beginning of the conflict, Ukraine has experienced severe damage within its civil population. Both in Ukraine and Russia, women along the border regions and other vulnerable zones faced specific forms of damage and exploitations. The forced displacements accompanied by the conflict affect the livelihoods of women and increases their economic vulnerability. Along the dividing line of control, women suffer from specific forms of exploitations such as absence of aids and pensions which affects elderly women negatively. Besides, violence within the households, sexual exploitation along the border regions and human trafficking are some of the key issues where women remain the worst sufferers. In spite of being the most vulnerable during conflicts between states, their representation remains virtually nil in international politics and hence their emancipation cannot be ensured.

Wars and conflicts between states are accompanied by stringent measures imposed by international financial organizations. Data collected by numerous organizations during the conflict-ridden times of Ukraine revealed that such measures imposed by IMF worsened the socio-economic impacts of the war. This affects women more and tends to rob their of their livelihoods. The impacts that wars and conflicts have, compel us to deviate from the traditional notion of security and employ diplomacy as the key for ensuring a long-term solution to the issues. The negotiations and diplomatic attempts to resolve the Ukraine issue has revealed a significant gender bias. Women from civil societies who are also directly affected by the conditions are granted no representation in the delegate teams. The WILPF Secretary General Madeleine Ress comments that while, women are compelled to join the military forces, they are simply excluded from the dialogue forum between two countries, which still continues to be a masculine phenomenon.

Considering the fact that women and other gender minorities constitutes the worst sufferers of the military escalation and conflicts, it is immensely important that the network of support that aims to defend human rights and rights of gender minorities be strengthened and made effective. The concerned organizations should be focused on extending their support to the local and regional zones, where initiatives to start dialogues between civil society stakeholders. These initiatives at the local level would further enhance the procedures at the international level, which would become more inclusive and gender representation would be at par. Apart from these, at the national level, policies and formulations that focus on women safety and ensure them a better standing at times of crisis should be implemented, especially during wars and conflicts.

Britee Adhikary

Intern, Asia in Global Affairs

References:

O’Sullivan, M. (2020). The Forgotten Lives: Connecting Gender, Security, and Everyday Livelihoods in Ukraine’s Conflict. Politics & Gender, 16(3).

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Villlellas, A. (2022, February 1). The Ukrainian crisis from a feminist, peace-building perspective [web log]. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://blog.cristianismeijusticia.net/en/2022/02/01/the-ukrainian-crisis-from-a-feminist-peace-building-perspective.

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