For two years in a row, I hear that the Belarusian revolution has a female face.

But "new Belarus", judging by the conference with the same name, is planned as a good old men's club with a small female addition.

The speakers of this event can be counted on the fingers.

You can say that "now is not the time for this topic" or remind that in 2020 Belarusians and Belarusians voted for a woman

- received the most attention on the first day of the conference

.

And this attention was not at all complimentary.

A separate discussion can be developed on each of these points, but it is clear: if women are replaced by men in these counterarguments, there will be no discussion at all.

It just doesn't happen like that - no one ever argues the low male representation by the fact that at least someone was invited or that the main speaker of the event is a man, so that's enough.

You can hold a hundred such conferences and think for a very long time and in different ways about how to build a new Belarus.

But as long as these reasonings are 80% from men's mouths, it will be running in circles.

There is nothing new in the "men decide for everyone" approach.

This is an old, bad patriarchy that definitely has no place in the future of Belarus.

Lukashenka's regime is a concentrate of what is called toxic masculinity, and as we can see, his machismo approach has not led to anything good.

If the new leadership of the country will be another men's club, the final will be approximately the same as what Lukashenko did with his loyal guard.

Where will the other end come from if the new regime is based on the same basic values ​​as the previous one?

You know, I'm quite uncomfortable writing this text.

It is already 2022, and we have to explain again and again that a woman is not just a person, but also a person with the same rights as a man.

And that the argument "now is not the time to talk about it" is just a convenient way to avoid hot topics and important transformations.

In Ukraine, during the full-scale war, the Istanbul Convention was ratified to more effectively deal with domestic violence and violence against women.

They did not say that we should wait, that first the victory, and then the women's issue.

Because this is the logic of Western civilization - you cannot first achieve world recognition, and then, maybe, think about social catastrophes.

First, the Istanbul Convention, and then recognition and entry into the EU.

Unfortunately, gender issues remain marginal in our country.

They will be dealt with sometime later, but this is also not certain.

However, many will say that it does not matter who voices the problems, as long as they are heard and resolved.

Only the words "what difference, who" actually mean "what difference, who, if not women."

And there is nothing new in this.

The opinions expressed in the blogs represent the views of the authors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position.

• Nasta Zakharevich

  Freelance journalist, radical feminist

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