“Dear friends,
Let me start by thanking “Women PACE Group” for your invitation and for bringing all of us together. It’s a privilege for me to be in a circle of like-minded women. I don’t need to prove myself, excuse myself, or to compete for the place on the podium. I can be honest about my feelings and share my pains.
In times of war, it is obvious that more women in politics will mean more empathy, humanity, and wisdom in our decisions. These are precisely the things that we need in the world, now and ever.
I call myself an accidental politician. It has never been my goal to become a political leader. However, I became one – out of love. It was love for my husband Siarhei that made me take his place in the presidential campaign in 2020. Dictator Lukashenka was so afraid of Siarhei that he put him in jail.
When I ran, Lukashenka immediately dismissed me as a “housewife”. “Our constitution is not made for a woman”, he said. And he was wrong. He lost elections but refused to go.
His posture actually inspired thousands of Belarusian women to lead spontaneous and peaceful marches to challenge him.
You must remember the images of them, defiant, calm and righteous… Lukashenka’s thugs arrested so many of them, beat them, raped them, and locked them up. But the women of Belarus remain unbowed.
I am filled with pride and admiration when I remember the sight of that lone woman, Nina Baginskaya, defiantly waving her flag in front of heavily armored policemen. They didn’t know what to do. Each day they would confiscate her flag and detain her, only to see her the next day, fearless and brave, waving a new flag in front of them.
Three years has passed since the beginning of our revolution. It was not a fast victory as many of us expected. We realized that it’s not a sprint but a marathon. But I learned one thing: we, as women, are good at long distances. Women have patience and endurance that lead us forward to freedom.
Unfortunately, the path to freedom is often paved with pain, tears, and suffering. Among 1500 political prisoners in Belarus, 200 are women; the other 350 are sentenced to forced labor. Women political prisoners are systematically restricted from letters and deprived of medical aid. They are held in subhuman conditions and left on their own.
One of them is 61-year-old Galina Derbysh, sentenced to 20 years in prison. She suffers from cancer. Her health is detoriarating. She is regularly fainting in prison cell. Despite her cries for help, she is regularly denied medical aid.
31-year-old Belarusian activist Kira Bayaranka found out she was pregnant while being in prison. She was detained for helping the victims of Lukashenka’s regime. Kira gave birth to her child in the prison cell. Her child was born dead.
And there are thousands of people with similar stories. Thousands of families are separated against their will. Thousands of kids are waiting for their parents home.
My children, whom I now only see on weekends, often ask when their Dad will return, and I still struggle in explaining explain why their dad is sentenced to 19 years in prison. Recently, my 7-years daughter told me that she is collecting money in her piggy bank for a tank. Why? – I asked. “To release our daddy”, she said.
Her words inspired me but also made me sad. Our kids deserve to have a childhood without fear, prisons, and war. And our task – as mothers, as wives, and as women leaders in the end – is to ensure them a normal peaceful life.
Dear friends,
Fighting for democracy, human rights, and the rights of women is our common duty. Today, I spoke about Belarus, but I know that tyrants are doing the same in different parts of the world. It’s high time to unite our efforts and continue this fight together.
Stay with Belarus. Stay with Ukraine. Stay with democratic Europe”.
