Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36-37
38-39
40
was the successful Women’s Congress in Stanyslaviv in 1934. While the men were only talking about convening an all-Ukrainian congress, the women demonstrated their power and solidarity. The resolutions passed at the congress underlined the importance that women as cribed to themselves and the women’s movement: Underlining the postulates of the women’s movement in general — the equality of high moral standards of women and men — [the Ukrainian women’s movement] stresses the equal responsibility of women and men for the size and quality of the new generation, its health, strength and upbringing....Since the family is the social and bio logical unit of the nation...we demand the upgrading of the position and dignity of the woman as mother and the assurance of equal rights for both mothers and fathers. Yet, although we value very highly the calling of the woman as mother, the Congress nevertheless goes on record against the contention that motherhood is the sole vocation for the woman in society and the sole measure of her worth as a person....Women’s movements are not yet a completed stage in history: their tasks are not only the struggle for the external conditions neces sary for the growth of women, but also the drawing of women into roles in which they could be jointly determi- nantal and jointly responsible elements in the life of the nation.9 As the strength of the women’s movement grew, so did open opposition to it. The Cooperative Association tried to create a separate women’s affiliate. Lay Catholic intelligentsia tried to subvert the ratification of a new statute of the Women’s Union thro u g h a last-m in ute inclusion of a fundamentalist religious clause. The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), which was in many ways a youth-oriented movement, stressed that each woman was important since she could be a potential mother of sons. Without questioning thisaspect of the OUN program, the women became not only mothers, but also dedicated colleagues, bearing this double burden with exemplary fortitude, if not foresight. But the union survived this three-pronged attack. Feminism — expressed through an organization of women for equality and for the expansion of their role in society — contributed to the success of the Ukrainian national renaissance and aided the modernization of Ukrainian society. The women were able to achieve some of their goals before the Second World War put an end to the activities of the Women’s Union. By encou raging women to become active in community life, fem inism increased the number of active and conscious Ukrainians. Whether Ukrainian women’s organizations today, both in Ukraine and elsewhere, are continuing to promote the growth of women or whether they isolate them in certain types of activity, is a matter for debate, not lecture. 8 Zhinocha dolia, September 1925, p.5 9 Rezoliutsii Ukrainskoho zhinochoho kongresu, Stanyslaviv, 23-27 VI, 1934 (Lviv, 1934). VASYL SYMONENKO MONARCHS Dictators, kings, emperors fainting in the vapour of vanity opened their muzzles, large as craters and roared: “We are the symbols of humanity! Who’s not with us is against God! Who’s not with us is against all! We incarnate the era.” Their piddling laurels fell at their spindly bloody feet. A band of cripples serving as jesters sell themselves for a bowl of porridge and feed the vanity of their masters. Idols, kissed and salivated over go pompusly shuffling their gait. All the while near them - uncrowned the real leaders wait. Copernicus and Giordano Bruno, Shevchenko proudly raises his brow. No lackeys near them, for the sincere high heaven cannot be painted over with a mop. For glory, true and eternal, does not need a prop. Translated by Martha Bohachevsky-Chomiak ’НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, СІЧЕНЬ 1985 27
Page load link
Go to Top