Viewing Russia-China crisis through Ken Booth’s gendered lens
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.
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:
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.
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
Hi Ayushi! Let me start off by saying how much I enjoyed reading your post especially since you have highlighted the role of women in the Russian-Ukraine conflict. Especially since you have highlighted the role they have occupied in the military and especially in combat roles. You have highlighted the actions people in power have taken with respect to the conflict escalation like, you have mentioned Lesia Vasylenko who has urged foreigners to also join in solidarity with the Ukrainians, and women like Ms.Kuzma who have spent years as sole women in their units in this fight. Hence, my question to you would be how would we conceptualize women combat in conflict through Ken Booth's lens especially since women in combat roles is a topic that is very intensely debated, and what kind of roles do states essentially occupy in propagating this mobilization, acknowledgement and inclusion of women in the combat roles, especially also because sexual violence is used as a very common weapon in conflicts of this kind?. Your essay has also helped me reflect on some of these ideas as to what kind of efforts that women take are actually considered heroic acts since like Booth also mentions is something we associate with something only men can execute. I am linking some of the pieces I read up to make this observation and it might be something you could include in your future posts.
ReplyDeletehttps://news.un.org/. 2022. Concern for women and children caught up in Ukraine conflict. [online] Available at:
O’Neill, J., 2022. Ukrainian women say Russian troops are flirting with them on Tinder. [online] Nypost.com. Available at:
Olmstead, M., 2022. How Women Forced Ukraine to Welcome Them Into the Military. [online] Slate Magazine. Available at: