Viewing Russia-China crisis through Ken Booth’s gendered lens

By Anonymous -

 Right now with everything going on in the world, one question that arises in every individual’s mind is the idea of security or how secure and safe we are as citizens or individuals through various realms that are economical, cultural,environmental etc. However, understanding security through only a lens isn’t justifiable because what could be a means of security for one could be a threat for others.Current example of this could be the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Image source: www.vox.com/22917719/russia-ukraine-invasion-border-crisis-nato-explained. 

Following months of military buildup and brinkmanship on its border with Ukraine, Russia launched a multi-pronged attack on its former Soviet neighbour, threatening to destabilise Europe and drag in the US. A flurry of diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to avert a Russian invasion failed to ease tensions that had been building for months.The escalation of Russia-years-long Ukraine's conflict has sparked Europe's worst security crisis since the Cold War.

Image source : From MPs to Beauty Queen, Ukrainian Women Take up Arms against Russia, 2022, www.indiatoday.in/world/russia-ukraine-war/story/ukrainian-women-take-up-arms-against-russian-invasion-1918527-2022-02-27. 


To view this crisis from a gendered lens,  Ken Booth's views highlight the IR's gendered nature and how women were not even considered essential until the late 1960s. He considers their perspectives and contributions to be critical in overcoming the discipline's regressive tendency.As the crisis in Ukraine continues, women across the country have taken up arms to defend their country from Russian invasion.From lawmakers to beauty queens, women across the country have taken up guns to defend Ukraine in its hour of need.Lesia Vasylenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, has called on foreigners to join the country's resistance to Russia's invasion.Anastasiia Lenna, who represented Ukraine in the 2015 Miss Grand International beauty pageant, has given up her crown and sash to defend her homeland. Female warriors like Ms. Kuzma, who claimed she spent four years as the sole woman in her unit, have been critical in Ukraine's conflict with Russian-backed rebels that seized sections of the eastern Donbas region in 2014. Thousands of people were mobilised at a time when the Ukrainian military was weak and in desperate need of assistance. They aided the war effort as civilian volunteers transporting supplies to the front under risky conditions, serving as assault infantry, combat medics, and snipers.The army has deployed gender counselors to serve at 400 military stations around Ukraine. Lt. Gen. Valery Zaluzhny's gender adviser, Viktoria Arnautova, said her team was inspired by the progressive sexual-harassment rules of the US and Canadian services.Female troops in Ukraine are destined to play an important role in the country's security, whether in the regular military or in the new territorial defence units staffed by part-time soldiers. They claim that after eight years of fighting, they are better prepared than ever to help repel a Russian invasion.

Bibliography:

  1. Luxmoore, Matthew. “If War with Russia Comes, Ukrainian Women Will Be on the Front Lines.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 17 Feb. 2022, www.wsj.com/articles/if-war-with-russia-comes-ukrainian-women-will-be-on-the-front-lines-11645113866.

  2. Desk, India Today Web. “From Mps to Beauty Queen, Ukrainian Women Take up Arms against Russia.” India Today, 27 Feb. 2022, www.indiatoday.in/world/russia-ukraine-war/story/ukrainian-women-take-up-arms-against-russian-invasion-1918527-2022-02-27.okay

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