On November 9, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya took part in the closing discussion, “Women in the Fight for Democracy: Courageous and Vulnerable at the Same Time”, at the Freedom and Security Women Summit in Berlin.
Other participants included German Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, French National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet, and Iranian human rights activist Masih Alinejad. The discussion focused on women fighting for democracy under dictatorships and how the international community can support them.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke about Belarusian women who took to the streets in 2020 following mass arrests and torture: “During the election campaign, Lukashenka said that our Constitution was not designed for women. The Belarusian people were so outraged by this statement that they went out to vote and took to the streets. They wanted to show that women can and want to be involved in politics.
In the first days after the rigged election, mass protests broke out. A huge number of men were arrested. Three days later, our women took flowers in their hands and went out into the streets themselves”.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya urged people not to forget those who continue to fight for freedom: “I urge people to speak out about the problems in other countries and show solidarity. It doesn’t take much time. Just speak up. If you don’t see people in the streets, it doesn’t mean that things have returned to normal. In Belarus and other countries, it means that brutal repression has made people invisible. So be a voice for those who have been silenced”.
