Relatives may send women to military so that men can stay home with children – AFU gender adviser Hryhoriieva
In some Ukrainian families, a woman’s relatives may send her to serve in the army so that her husband can stay at home, arguing that he could be "killed in the war."
This was stated by Oksana Hryhoriieva, gender adviser to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in an interview with NV, as reported by Censor.NET.
According to her, every woman should be ready, if necessary, to defend the country. However, she noted that compulsory mobilization of women in Ukraine today is a political issue, and "our society is not yet ready for this."
"Women join the army voluntarily. But I also know that in some families, a woman may be pushed into military service by her relatives — for example, by her mother-in-law — so that her husband, the mother's son, can stay at home with the children. The argument is that as a woman, you are less likely to be sent into assault operations, while he could be killed at the front," she said.
Hryhoriieva also spoke about a woman who divorced her husband after he suggested stripping her of parental rights over their child so that he could become the legal guardian and thus qualify for a deferment.
"I know there are men who buy themselves disability status, who enter into sham marriages with women with disabilities. I know there are men who have been sitting in apartments for three years, not leaving the house, while their poor, overworked wives provide for them. And now, stepping outside is an even bigger problem for them because they are already wanted by the authorities. Families are falling apart because of this," said the gender adviser to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"I believe that we must all prepare to defend our Homeland, and that everyone, men and women alike, should acquire a military specialty and receive basic medical training. General military training should already be taking place, but on a voluntary basis," she added.
