Thread by @TerezaHendl

A 🧵 for the anti-war feminists who argue against backing Ukrainian defence: an initiative delivering medication to survivors of Russian army’s sexual violence, helping women, girls & fellow survivors to prevent unwanted pregnancy and access safe abortion, that I've supported..

…asked donors to send money to the UA defence because without pushing the occupying RU & allied armies out of Ukraine, there is currently no way to reach many women, girls and fellow people who have been raped and to stop & prevent their rape and murder. A reality check. So..

Anyone who undermines defence in response to a military invasion needs to understand that denying people the means of self-defence enables rape, killing & imperial oppression. Doesn't feminism support a woman's right to self-defence against gender violence? Then it ought to…

..support defence against military invasions that perpetrate gender based violence, war crimes & sexist oppression. There is also evidence that the Russian army is weaponizing rape as a means of ethnic cleansing in Ukraine. Thus, to anti-war feminists safely positioned far away..

https://twitter.com/yogital/status/1513639297223737347

…from the Russian army and its sexual and lethal violence I’d like to say: pause and reassess if you want to restore credibility in global debates on sexist oppression and gender justice. And I say “far away” because as Ukrainian feminist Tamara Zlobina noted on a panel on…

..Ukrainian feminist debates on the RU invasion of UA, there are no Ukrainian feminists listed as signatories under a certain intl feminist anti-war manifesto and it’s unclear if they were even consulted. Any feminist ‘solidarity’ with UA that does not center Ukrainian feminist..

…voices & agency is no solidarity but an excercise of coloniality & a failure to do genuine feminist work. Do better & crucially: stop centering your own agendas. Rather take a step back and read the rich scholarship by feminists from societies affected by Russian imperialism..

One’s lack of local knowledge on the ongoing legacy of Russian imperial and colonial violence fuels one’s complicity in the silencing and harming of oppressed populations, including women and girls. Inform yourself and follow the lead of feminists from (post)occupied societies…

Start with what Ukrainian feminists have to say - like Anna Khvyl, feminist sound artist & curator from Kyiv in this interview 👇“Believe me, I know what nonviolent resistance is, and there is not a single chance for it now in Ukraine. I know the consequences of militarisation…”

https://twitter.com/daryatsymbalyuk/status/1509815932838985730

“My Ukrainian feminist colleagues have organised several programmes to support victims of domestic violence which increases as a result of militarisation. But now the priority for all of us is to stay alive, and to give this chance to as many people as possible.”

And read…

What @i_zamuruieva and @DaryaTsymbalyuk have to say: “As feminists, we are critical of militarisation. We do not support the military-industrial complex and international markets for weapons sales. But Russia’s war against our homeland, Ukraine, has forced us into a situation…

https://twitter.com/i_zamuruieva/status/1504422311960666116

“…where we believe the only ethical choice for us as feminists is to lobby for more air defence systems for our country. Russia’s war crimes have left us no option but to campaign for more military aid to be able to defend ourselves and survive.”

Now, what do you do when…

you read words like these? Do you listen and take them on board or do you suppress them because they say something you don’t like and that makes you uncomfortable? If you think your position on the invasion is the right one, how would you describe the power dynamic in that? How…

..would you describe the power dynamic in how you’re relating to feminist thinkers from a society that is being subjected to war crimes & crimes against humanity? In particular, as someone who is not living under the dire reality of a Russian military invasion? You need to ask..

yourself this core question: do you want more Ukrainian women to be raped & killed by occupying soldiers? Because that’s what it comes down to. We’re in no fantasy land where one can hide from consequences: pacifism denying attacked people means of self-defence enables killing…

And we’re in no fantasy land where surrender to a RU invasion means ‘peace’ or safety. If you think so, you’re not building on testimonies of UA women from occupied Donbas & Crimea and those from fellow societies currently & previously occupied by Russia..rferl.org/amp/ukraine-se…

Further, @MilaOSullivan observes that feminist peace activism calling against military defence isn’t really big in Central & East European countries that have been occupied & threatened with Russian imperialism. Yet, it tends to thrive in the West. What does that tell you? And…

If you investigated your position from a decolonial perspective, what would the analysis unravel? What kind of power dynamic is between you and women affected by RU imperialism, their voices, agency, views & needs? What is your feminism doing to them and is it really feminist?

End of 🧵#FeministsAgainstWar
#decolonize #intersectionality
#EndRussianInvasion
#NoJusticeNoPeace
@CEE_Feminisms

The sign & earrings I’ve carried to BLM marches. As there is no peace without justice, let’s not wish less for Ukraine & all societies harmed by Russian imperialism

Here is an invitation to the next panel platforming Ukrainian feminists’ perspectives on the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Anna Dovgopol, Oksana Potapova, Yosh & Tamara Zlobina, organized by @MilaOSullivan iir.cz/en/ukrainian-f…