VETERANKA. 6 years power of sisterhood

Every big thing starts with a small step. History of the VETERANKA movement began with a conversation in the kitchen… or maybe with a choral performance of the Ukrainian anthem in a karaoke bar in Irpin? (Only 🤫) …but let’s start from the base. From the kitchen, where women united by the Maidan and the war gathered to discuss the problems of women in the army. 

 The Russian-Ukrainian war had just started, and young volunteers with a burning desire to change the world had united. They had no status, but they had an idea. What came out of this — read in the historical material.

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With no long introductions or bouts of nostalgia. The Invisible Battalion

So, in that kitchen, the idea of researching the problems of women in the army came. The apt name seemed to come out of nowhere — The Invisible Battalion. Later, it turned into a global advocacy campaign. The servicewomen brought together almost all of Ukraine’s most powerful women — sociologists from Mohylianka, parliamentarians from the Equal Opportunities Inter-Faction Association, incredible filmmakers, communicators, activists, and all kinds of experts — with one goal: to give women defending the country a status and visibility. 

This is how 63 combat positions prohibited for women were opened (greetings to the mishap company bathhouse operators and seamstresses awarded the Order of Courage — Viktoriia Dvoretska and Andriana Arekhta). Today, the number of servicewomen in the Defence Forces has reached 70,000. Among them, 6,000 hold combat positions and serve on the front line. 

Eventually, in 2018, a law on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men during military service in the Armed Forces and other military formations was adopted. It took 3 years, the efforts of hundreds of people, and importuning government officials and officers. It is ironic that this result turned out not to be the end, but only the beginning of a long and systematic work on gender equality in the army.

Gatherings, values, and a bit of bureaucracy. The Women Veterans Movement

We already had a community, and we started to ‘legalise’ the Movement. Over the year, we have held 8 Gatherings of Women Veterans across Ukraine, looking for common values and goals. In 2019, we officially registered. Andriana Arekhta, Mariia Berlinska, and Kateryna Pryimak became the founders of the NGO “Women Veterans Movement”. The board also included ‘Katrusia Strila’, the lieutenant colonel Kateryna Korniienko, grenade launcher and reconnaissance woman Yuliia Kirillova, and aerial reconnaissance officer Halyna Klempouz. 

Today, we continue to unite sworn sisters, support them, influence the state’s vision, and conduct ongoing educational work to raise awareness that sexism and prejudice are a shot in own foot. It is in the interest of each of us to develop professionally, so gender is not scary, it’s about equal chances for everyone to prove themselves.

Who can solve something for us better than us? We want to defend our homes, we want to influence, we want to prove ourselves in the army. We know that the issue of gender equality is the key to many important changes. Our goal is to respect the rights of the military and veterans, and respect has no gender. 

Power of sisterhood in action

There are still many barriers, challenges, and problems, but there are also  many shifts. No one could have imagined that a conversation in the kitchen would result in truly historic events for the country. Women’s uniforms, a series of advocacy campaigns on medical issues, education for teenage girls at the Ivan Bohun Military Lyceum, and the lifting of the ban on hazardous work for women. And visibility and recognition of female defenders. At the beginning of our journey, we knocked on all the media asking to tell women’s stories, and now the media around the world are lining up — our women inspire with their courage and determination to protect those they love. We have initiated and helped to implement many Ukrainian and international projects, interviews, documentary films, and photo projects, which tell about the challenges and needs of women defenders in the voices of women defenders. And this trend is only gaining momentum.

We are no longer an ‘Invisible Battalion’, we are a visible movement called VETERANKA — a non-governmental organisation, charity foundation, social entrepreneurship, a community of 1,500 women and 500+ friends, partners and volunteers. 

The Movement’s birthday is on 27-28 July 2018: the first meeting of founders of the Women Veterans Movement in Irpin, where for the first time, crazy women ready to change the world loudly gathered together. Many of them are already holding the sky, and we are dedicating our lives to Ukraine in memory of the fallen and for the sake of the future.

To celebrate the Movement’s birthday and all the way we have come in 6 years, we are announcing a large fundraising ‘The Power of Sisterhood’ for UAH 6 million. So there will be more than one reason to congratulate us.

If you want to join the great cause, please write to us in direct and fill out the Google form for ambassadors!