Amid Ukraine's turmoil, women's rights must not be forgotten
When a war is going on, the thing that is most easily sidelined is the rights of the marginalised. The provisional Ukrainian government includes figures who have been openly sexist, such as the deputy prime minister, Oleksandr Sych, of the far-right Svoboda party. If these people retain power after the general election on 25 May, the already difficult position of Ukrainian women is likely to get worse.
In April 2013 Svoboda, then an opposition party, registered a bill that would have outlawed abortion even in cases of rape. Sych was widely quoted as saying that rape "cannot be proved" and that "[a woman] should lead such a lifestyle so as to not be exposed to the risk of rape.… Seguir leyendo »