Women with disabilities, and communities of care in wartime Ukraine: Conversations with disability and women's rights activists about feminist and disability solidarities

Abstract

Women with disabilities (WWD) in Ukraine are at the forefront of efforts to support civilian populations at risk during Russia's full-scale invasion. This article takes a first-hand perspective to document women's disability justice activism in Ukraine, feminist and disability solidarities across regional and national borders, and the important roles Ukrainian women play in creating and sustaining communities of care. The article contributes to scholarship on disability inclusive disaster response, the gendered nature of care, and intersectional approaches to disability advocacy. We ask how a pointedly feminist, intersectional disaster response by disabled social activists is opening spaces for enhanced disability justice and women's empowerment in a post-war Ukraine, with potential to build back “otherwise.” We argue that WWD's expertise provides pathways for expanding agendas of civic groups to be more inclusive of gender, ability, LGBTIQ+ status, and others, and to move from a charity framework to a feminist, justice-based approach.