Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
UNWLA 100
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2024
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
Ivan Kuras, formerly one of the rectors of Kiev Uni versity and currently the Vice Premier of Ukraine on Humanities, explained that the government, in creating a special commission on women, children and family is attempting to alleviate the major economic and social ills that accompany the transition from a planned social ism to a free market economy. He, as all other speakers, stressed the feminization of poverty, the inequality'in the pay structure, the disproportionate employment of women in professions most vulnerable to the vagaries of the market. By far the darling of the presenters was the Ambassador of Norway, Arvid Nordsledtten, who, speak ing in Ukrainian, explained that only when at least 40% of all political and economic enterprises will be in the hands of women will the full potential of society be rec ognized. Suani Hunt, the US Ambassador to Austria, linked the involvement of women in public life to the rate of transition from communism to modernity. The press, on the other hand, focused upon the generalities of the hearings rather than upon their marked success in breaking through the rhetoric of the ingrained inequality. That change will be difficult was made dramatically evident when N.A. Pokotylo, repres enting a previously unknown organization, The Union of Women Workers for the Future of Their Children, be moaned that capitalism transformed Ukraine into an independent jail cell and her bombastic quote from Vla dimir Ilyich Lenin was met by standing ovations from the small hard core socialist male contingent. The voice of peasant women was not heard at the hearings except through the old regional collective farm structures that speak the language of old party bosses. A.P. Vedmid’, Chair of the Kolhosp of the Agricultural Company “Star”, pointed to the difficult life of peasant women and the important economic and political role they play. She had no specific recommendations. The speakers focused on various areas of the provi sions that were included in the general recommenda tions. They were summed up as follows: Woman are the most vulnerable category of the population to the wave of exploitation, criminality and violence. Women suffer discrimination in the workplace. They constitute over 70% of the unem ployed. The mean income level of women is a third less than the equivalent among males. These factors have a negative impact upon fhe health and welfare of the whole population, but espe cially on women and children. These factors are in great measure responsible for the catastrophic demographic situation in Ukraine, where the death rate is higher than the birth rate.9 The promises made by government speakers in cluded the establishment of more medical centers for women, providing some funding for crisis centers for battered women, and addressing needs of refugees and those returning to Ukraine from other areas of the former USSR. Representatives of women’s organizations, Maria Drach from the Women’s International Commun ity (Zhinocha Hromada), Athena Pashko from the Soyuz Ukrainok and Maria Orkyk from the League of Ukrainian Women (Spilka Zhinok Ukrainy), all raised issues-of the enforcement of parity in the legislation and in the opportunities open to women in education and employ ment, women’s unemployment, and the need for more support in educational programs. They were perturbed by the small number of schools using Ukrainian as the basic language of instruction and by the decline in the publication of Ukrainian books. In her summary presentation, Olena Krandakova, the deputy in charge of the Presidential committee on Issues of Women, Motherhood and Children, focused on the importance of women in the upbringing of child ren, on the role of women in economy, and on the need of women to become a force in the legislative life of the country. In a small change on the thinking about the issue of women, Krandakova stressed that there is still no mechanism to ensure the equality of women nor аіїу concrete measures to raise the consciousness of society on the ingrained lack of equality of women. She noted the need to provide programs to train women to become leaders in society and in political life. Her Committee will be charged specifically to coordinate programs within the executive and legislative branches that will address institutional and attitudinal bias against women, and actively promote a broader role of women. The committee proposes to establish a public relations sec tion that will foster public programming to raise the level of consciousness on these issues. The recommendations of the organizers of the hear ings were directed to specific government institutions. The Rada was enjoined to introduce legislation that would make it possible for women’s community organi zations to propose candidates for election to Parlia ment, in an attempt to ensure some degree of sexual parity. Periodic hearings on the implementation of the UN convention was also considered a useful tool of control. The Cabinet of Ministers, the women held, should play a more forceful role in establishing conditions of parity in Ukrainian government and in international programs for women. Human rights organizations and women’s organizations should become partners of the government in the preparation of national, regional and international programs on human rights. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in addition to the expected demand to provide greater opportunities for meaningful employ ment of women is to play a more active role in the implementation of the UN conventions on labor, migra tion and prostitution. The work for the Ministry of Labor, Health Ministry, and Ministry of Social Welfare of the Population of Ukraine, focused on ensuring more equit able conditions for women. The Ministry of Justice, in "НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ГРУДЕНЬ 1995 17
Page load link
Go to Top
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 
