On 22 March 2025, an incredible event took place in Kharkiv. Representatives of the public, academic and public sectors, activists, and volunteers met offline at the Power of Kharkiv Women forum. According to the organisers, it was the first forum since the beginning of the war that was not held in a virtual format.
The meeting began with a session on the History of the Women’s Movement in Kharkiv Region. The speakers discussed the historical facts of Kharkiv women’s history, and it turned out to be a holistic discussion with extremely vivid topics about Kharkiv women from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day: educators and scientists, artists and actresses, civic activists and politicians, and other professionals in the context of gender history.
Associate Professor of the Department of Ukrainian Studies, Cultural Studies and History of Science Vasyl Malikov delivered a presentation entitled ‘Comrade Woman: Actresses of the Berezil Theatre and Gender Aspects of Creative Work’. Other speakers at the session were Olha Nikolaienko, Doctor of History, Professor at H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National University, who spoke about the origins and spread of the women’s movement in Kharkiv, and Natalia Aksenova, Candidate of History and Associate Professor at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, who spoke about the career aspirations of Kharkiv women during the NEP period.
These stories are inspiring in today’s context, as they demonstrate the resilience and indomitability of the women’s movement of the past. The audience was also presented with the experience of the Museum of Women’s and Gender History in supporting attention to the invisible pages of women’s history. “We are writing history. It depends on each of us what the future of Kharkiv will be like,” the discussion said.