Marta Havryshko: The agency and visibility of Ukraine’s female soldiers

For the second year running, Ukraine’s women military medics are participating in the “Goddess in epaulettes” (Berehynia u pohonakh) beauty pageant. Promotional materials show young women in evening dresses, bright makeup, painted nails, high heels and elaborately styled hair. Scantily clad competitors dance before a mostly male jury. According to the organisers, this event is designed to “turn society’s attention to our women, to the fact that they are protecting the independence of our state alongside men.” But does the idea that the experience of war in Donbas is identical for servicepeople of both sexes mean that we will see similar beauty competitions for men in the Ukrainian military? The question, of course, is rhetorical.

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