Olena Zelenska

The right to peace and security

“Women carry the effects of this war on their shoulders - they take care of their families, they ensure that their children are well and safe. Mothers and grandmothers have stepped in to protect the families."

Olena Zelenska is often introduced as "the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky", but Zelenska is a significant figure in her own right, not just as an extension of her spouse. Since Russia started the brutal war of aggression in Ukraine, Zelenska has emerged as a significant leader, inspiration and role model both in Ukraine and globally. Among other things, she has started a mental health campaign in Ukraine called "How are you", the purpose of which is to bring attention to the psychological and psychosocial effects caused by war. Zelenska has also highlighted the violence against women and girls in particular, as the threat of violence has increased significantly during the war. In 2020, even before the start of the war, Ukraine joined the Biarritz Convention on Equality, a global coalition led by France that aims to achieve gender equality and promote the rights of women and girls. Since the start of the war, Zelenska has reminded that although women and girls now face a specific threat of violence from the aggressor's side during the war, other types of domestic violence have also increased, to which we must not turn a blind eye. In November 2022, amidst the war, Ukraine also ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, known as the Istanbul Convention.

Olena Zelenska has emerged as a global feminist role model for women and girls, but despite trying to support Ukrainians through a brutal war, not even Zelenska has escaped sexism and double standards. After appearing on the cover of Vogue in the summer of 2022, Zelenska was criticized because her posture in the cover photo was deemed not 'feminine enough'. In the cover photo, Zelenska is sitting on a step with her knees bent, her elbows resting on her knees and looking directly into the camera. She looks tired, but at the same time determined - in the middle of a war, she hardly has time for patriarchal and sexist expectations.

Zelenska has quickly become the voice of women amid the war in Ukraine. Olena Zelenska is a constant reminder of the significant role Ukrainian women play, both on the battlefield and in their own communities. Women uphold important and vital services and activities in the middle of war and take care of their families, but women also participate in a significant way in national defense and peace building.

"Gender equality is an important goal in Ukraine, and so it was already before the war. Women have had to take on significantly more responsibilities during the war, but I believe that we will come out of this stronger. A woman who has had to go through this [war] is not willing to go back anymore," Zelenska said in the BBC's 100 Women interview.

UN Women has continued its work in Ukraine throughout the war of Russian aggression. UN Women's country office in Ukraine works in the country with local actors and authorities to secure the rights of women and their families even in the midst of war. UN Women's work supports, among other things, the activities of local women's organizations, the continuation of which is the lifeblood of the reconstruction of Ukrainian society and democracy.

Audiopoem

The poems are translated and read by Peppi Stünkel