Wednesday

2:00 pm

Gesellschaft und Ökonomie

Conference: Gender, Civil Society, and Women’s Movements in the Context of Russia’s War on Ukraine

hybrid event
Campus Kleve Room 02 01 017 and online
Bild

Dear Interested!

We cordially invite you to the conference "Gender, Civil Society, and Women’s Movements in the Context of Russia’s War on Ukraine" on January 18th, 2023, from 14:00 to 18:45 and January 19th, 2023, from 09:00 to 10:30. The event will take place in a hybrid format at Kleve campus of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences and online. The conference language is English. The conference is organized by Prof. Dr. Eva Maria Hinterhuber (Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Germany) and by PD Prof. Dr. Gesine Fuchs (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Switzerland).

 

Thematic focus and aim of the conference

In February 2022, Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine in violation of international law. Since then, there has been war in Europe. The conference puts feminist analyses in the focus, as war and conflict are deeply gendered. This is true for the different roles ascribed to women, men, and non-binary people in times of conflict (and peace): be it in terms of inclusion in the armed forces, be it in the context of flight and displacement, with regard to gender-specific and sexualized violence as well as peace activism. For the analysis of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a gender perspective is furthermore indispensable, because the political power in Russia places anti-equality policies at the center of its geopolitical argument. Such ideas are also pushed forward in other parts of Europe and worldwide, resulting in repressive gender policies. On the other hand, these tendencies are contrasted by a growing social acceptance of women's and LGBTQI* rights. Despite the risks involved parts of civil society, gender political movements and organizations throughout the region stand up for these rights. A cursory look at gender, civil society and gender movements in the context of the war on Ukraine makes clear that long-term political change depends crucially on civil society actors working against war, for democracy and peace – and, as their conditio sine qua non, gender justice.

The conference contributions discuss the war’s impact on women’s civil and political rights (Olena Strelnyk), Ukraine resisting Russian colonialism and Western orientalism (Galyna Kotliuk), empowerment and dialogue in times of war (Dana Jirous and Andrea Zemskov-Züge), Russian feminist politics in wartime (Vanya Solovey), gender systems in the Putin autocracy (Elizabeth A. Woods), it asks how Putin’s war in Ukraine might change gender studies of Central-Eastern Europe and Eurasia (Janet E. Johnson), and how war changes feminist civil society organisations in Ukraine (Manuela Scheuermann). It also assesses maternalism and nationalism in Russia (Yulia Gradskova), (gendered) potentials of private accommodation for the social integration of refugees in Switzerland (Gesin­­e Fuchs), and the role of gender and European-ness for welcome culture in Germany (Helma Lutz and Elisabeth Tuider). The event is accompanied by a student poster conference on civil society initiatives in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

 

For further information, please find here the detailed programme.

A publication of some of the conference contributions is planned in cooperation with Frontiers in Sociology: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/48082/gender-civil-society-and-womens-movements-in-the-context-of-russias-war-on-ukraine

If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Eva Maria Hinterhuber (eva-maria.hinterhuber@hochschule-rhein-waal.de) or PD Prof. Dr. Gesine Fuchs (gesine.fuchs@hslu.ch).

 

Online participation is possible

on Wednesday, January 18th, 2023, via

https://hsrw.webex.com/hsrw/j.php?MTID=mfedfa71498c085e0795fef66a4ccfba0

and on Thursday, January 19th, 2023, via

https://hsrw.webex.com/hsrw/j.php?MTID=m76a747e3d78bfadbcc0bcee535b39144.

If personal information appears automatically in the login screen, it can also be changed if desired.

In case of technical problems, please contact Deniz Kayar (Deniz.Kayar@hochschule-rhein-waal.de).