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Transcript/Script((TITLE: TV Female Soldiers Ukraine – Prus
HEAD: Female Soldiers Fight for Ukraine, Equality With Male Peers
TEASER: Since Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea, the number of women joining the country's combat forces has risen dramatically
PUBLISHED: 04/28/2022 at 8:25am
BYLINE: Mariia Prus
DATELINE: Washington
CAMERA: Kostiantyn Golubchyk
VIDEO EDITOR:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS:KE(1st); Reifenrath
VIDEO FROM: VOA, Agencies, Zoom
COURTESIES NEEDED:
TYPE: VPKGN
TRT: 3:05
VIDEO APPROVER'S INITIALS: Jepsen
UPDATE: All Zoom interviews are cleared for use))
((INTRO))
[[According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, female soldiers and officers make up about 15% of Ukrainian army combat forces. Since 2014, more than 30,000 Ukrainian women have become combat veterans. Those numbers have shot up since the Russian invasion. Mariia Prus has the story.]]
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Evgenia Emerald + Facebook Logo))
On day one of the war in Ukraine, Kyiv entrepreneur and junior lieutenant Evgenia Emerald joined the Territorial Defense of Ukraine; a few days later, she became an officer of the Special Regiment of the Ukrainian Army.
((End courtesy))
((Evgenia Emerald, Special Regiment Officer)) ((IN RUSSIAN)) ((ZOOM))
“I wanted to join the army back in 2014, when the military action in Ukraine started. But I had a small baby back then. This time, when the war started, I did not hesitate. I can’t imagine doing anything else right now.”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Yaryna Chornohuz + Facebook Logo))
Yaryna Chornohuz has been a combat medic with the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the past two years.
((End courtesy))
((Yaryna Chornohuz, Combat Medic)) ((IN UKRAINIAN))
((Mandatory courtesy: Yaryna Chornohuz))
“I joined the army partially because I’ve always wanted to do it.
((ZOOM))
But I couldn’t join in 2014, because I gave birth on April
((Mandatory courtesy: Yaryna Chornohuz))
14, 2014, right when it all started. In
((ZOOM))
January 2020, it so happened that my boyfriend who served in the
((Mandatory courtesy: Yaryna Chornohuz))
army died on-site. So, I decided to join in his memory.”
((End courtesy))
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Radio Free Europe))
According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, by late 2021, about 32,000 women belonged to Ukraine’s armed forces.
Kateryna Pryimak is a co-founder of the Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement. For over seven years, she has been fighting for women’s rights in the armed forces. But, she says, despite all her efforts, women still often don't have equal rights with men in the army.
((End courtesy))
((Kateryna Pryimak, Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement)) ((UKR)) ((ZOOM))
“If a woman is serving in the army and she has a child and husband waiting for her at home, you can imagine what a more traditional society will say about such a woman, even though a woman has the right to choose any career, or both husband and wife can be in the military.”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement))
On top of that, women say they need to work twice as hard to earn the respect of their male colleagues.
((End courtesy))
((Evgenia Emerald, Special Regiment Officer)) ((IN RUSSIAN)) ((ZOOM))
“I’ll be honest, the worst two weeks were very tough. // But now I have proven myself with my hard work and persistence, and the guys accept me fully. And you know what? They are like family to me now.”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Ukrainian Military TV + YouTube Logo))
In the eight years since the first military action in the Donbas region in 2014, the number of women joining the ranks
((End courtesy))
((Mandatory courtesy: Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement))
has risen considerably. And the Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement has achieved considerable progress in reaching gender equality in the spheres of safety and defense.
((End courtesy))
((Kateryna Pryimak, Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement)) ((ZOOM))
“Women are now seen as equals; they are being treated as people with rights. That’s a very big step. No one even talked about sexual violence or harassment in the military previously — and now this topic has ceased to be taboo; we are working with it.”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement))
For now, she says, the most pressing issues are having enough weapons and medications – for both
((End courtesy))
((Mandatory courtesy: Ukrainian Military TV + YouTube Logo))
men and women. She is encouraging the country’s Western allies to do what they can to help.
((For Mariia Prus, Anna Rice, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington
BylineMariia Prus
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
