On the frontline of working with internally displaced women in Ukraine

Our interview with Tetiana Baieva, Head of the Podillya Gender Council Centre, took place via Zoom the day after massive strikes against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. After the first question the lights went out in Khmelnytskyi, a city in Western Ukraine. Tetiana immediately came up with a solution so we continued the conversation by phone. Tetiana is not new to overcoming obstacles. Despite the war, she works tirelessly both on supporting internally displaced persons (IDP), and implementing the national strategy related to United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security at the local level.

Recognizing the needs of IDP women

Tetiana’s organization, Podillya Gender Council Centre, was established in 2007 to support and ensure gender equality in the political, economic, social, and humanitarian spheres, and promote women leaders at all levels. However, with first the illegal annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Donbas, and then Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it shifted its focus towards addressing the needs of IDPs.

In 2014, with the conflict in Donbas on her doorstep, Tetiana’s team joined an International Organization for Migration project that has been distributing equipment worth 10 million UAH (~520 000 EUR) for self-employment and business development of IDPs in Ukraine. More than half of the beneficiaries were women.

On 24 February 2022, when the Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started, Tetiana was in Kyiv at the UNSCR 1325 National Action Plan Conference. At the same time, in her hometown, Khmelnytskyi, civil society representatives gathered at the premises of her organization to form the volunteer group “Protection”. On the outbreak of the war, this volunteer group would send 60 cars of humanitarian aid daily.

“When I returned from Kyiv, I promised myself that helping IDP women would be one of key objectives for our organization. My son’s friend offered us his warehouse with an office area, and over there we began to actively help women with children,” Tetiana recalls.

Aside from providing much needed humanitarian aid, Podillya Gender Council Centre is also helping women to adjust to the new circumstances and rebuild their lives by providing career guidance and trainings.

‘’The war is not going to be over soon and you need to raise and feed children,” Tetiana says, noting that often difficulties finding a job are related to childcare. “Some women have three or four kids and no one to look after them. They told me that they were ready to work from home, so we came up with a two-hour training to develop a business plan. If the business plan was well-prepared, then the applicant received a certain amount of money to kick-start her business.”

Doing the work and what it takes

The weekend before our interview, Tetiana was handing out hygiene kits to those in need. She explained, “some women are already working. Weekends are more convenient for them to receive aid. So my usual week has no weekends. Today is a rare chance for me to stay at home."

But long working hours cannot withstand any comparison with enormous challenges and risks that war brings.

“On 23 February, I concluded my speech at a conference in Kyiv wishing all of us to win. Later, I was asking myself why did I say that. At half past four in the morning next day, when I heard the first explosions, I stood near the window and could not believe all that was happening. I grabbed my stuff and rushed to the metro station, and I was shocked to see that people there were not panicking,” recalled Tetiana.

As the war continued, the circumstances have not eased. In early August, she was distributing humanitarian aid in their organization’s warehouse when a roll of fabric fell. A woman standing nearby dropped down terrified. “I was shocked, because she was so lost and confused. Then I found out she came from Kramatorsk, and she was at the train station when it was bombed. 70 people died there, including children,” Tetiana says.

Working in such circumstances has been extremely challenging, Tetiana admits. But the unprecedented scale of needs and risks leave no opportunity or time to rest.

The vision for a revived Ukraine, with women front and centre

Today, Khmelnytskyi is one of Ukraine's regions that welcomes the highest number of internally displaced people. “More than 2 million people passed through our region on their way to Europe. Around 50,000 are staying in Khmelnytskyi city alone. Most of them need support,” Tetiana says.

The other thing that inspires Tetiana and her colleagues is the bravery and resilience of women across Ukraine. Just recently, Tetiana participated in OSCE-organized event in Georgia, where she brought a military helmet painted by her colleague's daughter Alina. Young artist used to paint beautiful artworks, but after Russia’s war against Ukraine started, she turned helmets into canvas for her paintings. “I was so deeply moved and my voice was trembling when I handed this helmet to our OSCE colleagues. They were really grateful.”

After the war is over, Tetiana is committed to working with her colleagues to ensure women’s participation in every aspect of future in the reconstruction of Ukraine: "It’s not just about involving women in the processes. It is about state policy.” The groundwork for this has been laid by Tetiana, her team and fellow activists, who are helping Ukrainian women rebuild their lives every day.

This story is part of a series, prepared by the OSCE’s WIN for Women and Men. This is a project aimed at strengthening comprehensive security through innovating and networking for gender equality to showcase women leadership responding to humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. Women leaders are the inspiration and the reason behind the WIN Project, which strengthens OSCE-supported networks and gives rise to new networks, fostering women’s participation and leadership, as well as broader men’s engagement in achieving gender equality.