Even If Women Are To Take Action, Konovalova I. (200473)

Even if women are to take action, Konovalova I. (2004:73) suggests, there is a belief among Russian women that their actions would not lead to any profound effect. That is why, the agenda for current feminists in Russia should include the recruiting of men, as when united, both genders can challenge the state and reach a gender equality. The suppression of the information about their native feminist traditions has contributed to a widespread perception in Russian society that feminism is an alien import, an ideology produced by women without a homeland who put their own self-interest before the needs of their own nation and people (Cento Bull, Diamond, and Marsh, 2000:6). The current image of feminists, created by the media, portrays†¦show more content†¦It may be connected to the fact that in the post-soviet Russian reality, a hierarchical and dependent mentality is still very strong and women are not willing to empower themselves as they either prefer the status of a ‘weak sex’ or can’t resist the societal pressures (Buckley, 1997). Domestic violence, rape, and domestic murder are disproportionally directed against women in the state (Sperling, 2014: ch. 5: 16). The government also systematically fails to provide effective measures to prevent domestic violence; provide posttraumatic help and justice for its victims: cases connected to domestic violence are usually left without investigation (Human Rights Watch, 2017). On the one hand, it is connected to the lack of the development of the system of justice. On the other hand, women in Russia frequently do not wish to officially report to the police, instead they ask policemen to frighten their partners, leading to preventive conversations done by police forces and nothing more (BBC Russian Branch, 2013). This unwillingness to leave a victimized relationship and to provide punishment for the actions makes the domestic violence rate so high in the state. Furthermore, the illustration of the governmental unwillingness to work for gender equality can be seen in the domestic violence bill which has been recently passed. It reduced penalties for abusers and put victims’ lives at even greater risk: only violence that leads to serious