The gender dimension of the activity of the Ukrainian women's movement in Canada and Australia

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the organized women's movement abroad. The Ukrainian women's movement, which arose and began to develop in all the countries where Ukrainians immigrated and lived, became the continuation and development of the Ukrainian women's movement on Ukrainian lands and had the goal of gaining women's rights in access to education and solving all public affairs. The reason for the emigration of Ukrainians was unfavorable political circumstances in the empires, to which at the end of the 19th century included all Ukrainian lands, as well as the economic decline and slow and ineffective development of the economy of both empires.
 The organized Ukrainian women's movement has always relied on the principles of equality of people regardless of gender. The activity of Ukrainian women's organizations was based on the idea of gender equality. It is obvious that the concept of "gender equality" refers to modern legal terminology, and at the beginning of the formation of the organized Ukrainian women's movement, such a term did not exist. Equality of people, regardless of gender, was outlined by the concept of "women's emancipation". What is interesting in the development of the Ukrainian women's movement in the free world is the difference with the women's movement of Canadians or Australians, which had a feminist component at its core, that is, it was based on the opposition of the sexes. Such antagonism between the sexes arose in those peoples who had their own state and were not subjected to national oppression.
 The activities of women's organizations were aimed at identifying discriminatory social practices and fighting for women's rights. Since Ukrainians did not have their own state and were oppressed, both men and women, there could be no conflict between the sexes. Therefore, for the Ukrainian women's movement, the basic values were the acquisition of women's rights, the preservation of national identity, traditions, the education of youth, and the preservation of the church. It should be noted that Ukrainian men supported women in their endeavors. Therefore, the activity of the organized Ukrainian women's movement is outlined in the context of gender equality.