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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, КВІТЕНЬ 201 2 WWW. UNWLA.ORG 23 Women are 90% of the labor migration. this migrant group is mostly female. Women are no longer the secondary migrants attached to males as the family anchors — women are currently 90% of the labor migration itself. Typically one woman migrant provides for three - four depe n- dents back home. Typically s he works illegally, and the work is of lower status and lower compensation that the work sought by her male counterparts. This exodus of rural women can be inte r- preted as a “women’s revolt” against socio - economic conditions. About a quarter choose seaso nal migrant work; 50% choose temporary emigration for a year or two, the overarching m o- tivation being the desire to earn money to bring back home. The sociological research of the Ce n- ter “Women’s Perspectives” found that 33% r e- ported needing to send money back home for housing, 26% dedicated funds towards tuition, and 32% provided for the paying back of loans. One estimate of remittance activity (private mo n- ey tra nsfers through banks) totaled 1.49 billion for the first quarter of 2011 (22% more than in the first quarter of 2010). CONCLUSIONS: PROSPECTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Recent sociological research confirms the tenacity of gender discrimination in Ukraine. Over half (55.7%) of Ukrainian respondents indicated that they consider life to be better/easier for men than for women. Whereas statistics for women’s participation in politics, higher education and pu b- lic leadership are on record, the gendered aspects of rural conditions are rarely examined, but they have far - reaching consequences for the viability of rural communities and for the entire nation. What we need is better statistics on how women are fa r- ing over time within the three major agricultural spheres that have evolved out of the collective farm system: the agricultural enterprises where colle c- t ive social welfare relations continue; the private family farms that are commodity producers; and the large agro - holdings that threaten to transform the Ukrainian countryside into something that looks more like the dispersed farmsteads of Africa and the Un ited States. The rise of the large agro - holdings exacerbates rural depopulation, so every year, 200 - 300 villages disappear. Women in Ukraine have demonstrated support for private farming. They represent 35% of small farm entrepreneurs. Of 35,254 such re g- istered farms , 12% are women - owned and opera t- ed . Such women entrepreneurs have emerged as leaders of economic and social reform in their r u- ral communities. With their concern for stren g- thening the economic positions of families within their communities, th ey emerge as Ukraine’s best hope for the future. T hrough the Union of Rural Women of Ukraine’s Council of Women Farmers , t hey support women - friendly legislation and be t- ter access to business training. Rural women polled recently reveal that they desir e pe nsion - eligibility at age 50, a shorter work day , and a push to bolster flagging social services. There are many obstacles to the success of these potential entrepreneurs, including unfavorable tax laws, immature market infrastructure, and insufficient acce ss to credit . But above all, women blame the state for its favoritism of large agro - holdings over small private farms, as well as for its failure to champion the equal rights of women to non - discriminatory hiring and training practices. If Ukraine’s ru ral villages are to survive the heyday of the agro - holdings, they would each need to be supported by a functioning school, a health clinic , and a cultural community center. The most recent gender report provided a frig h- tening statistic showing that materna l deaths du r- ing childbirth soared from 12.9 to 32.9 per tho u- sand in just one year from 2008 - 2009 . Something terrible is afoot. If the countryside is to be ec o- nomically viable , it needs guidance towards effe c- tive private farming with prod uction and marke t- in g capability ; and green tourism. If it is to be a space hospitable to women, gender stereotypes need to be remedied with social services, training opportunities , and programs promoting women to parity in the agro - in dustrial sector and in new agri business ventures. All photos by Iryna Klyuchkovska . Dr. Iryna Klyuchkovska is currently the Dire c- tor of the International Institute of Education, Culture, and Communication, and Liaison with the Diaspora for the Lviv Polytechnic National University of Ukraine. Dr. Martha Kichorowska Kebalo earned her d e- gree in Cultural Anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. In 2000, she conducted field research into women’s activism in the predominat e- ly rural central Ukrainian oblas t of Cherkassy, a region important to Ukraine’s agro - industrial sector.
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