The modern-day characteristics of women in Belarus evolved from the events that happened in the history of Belarus, particularly when the "concept of equal rights for women was first developed and substantiated in the late 16th century". The so-called Grand Duchy Charter of 1588 – one of the most important legal documents in Belarusian history – protected the dignity of Belarusian women under the law.^[4] Women in Belarus and their contribution to Belarusian society is celebrated annually on 8 March, during International Women's Day.^[5]

This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: The dominance of women in the 2020 Belarusian protests and the Coordination Council (Belarus) is missing from the article. (October 2020)

Quick Facts General Statistics, Maternal mortality (per 100,000) ...

Women in Belarus

A group of Belarusian women, wearing their national costumes, while getting the bride (seated) ready for her wedding day, dated before 1841.
General Statistics
Maternal mortality (per 100,000)	4 (2015)
Women in parliament	33.1% (2017)
Women over 25 with secondary education	87.0% (2017)
Women in labour force	62% (2014)[1]
Gender Inequality Index[2]
Value	0.104 (2021)
Rank	29th out of 191
Global Gender Gap Index[3]
Value	0.750 (2022)
Rank	36th out of 146

Close

In 2020, 53.4% of the population of Belarus was female.^[6] The 2020 estimated median age for Belarusian women is 43.9.^[7] Most Belarusian women fall into the 25-54 age range.^[7] The average life expectancy for Belarusian women is at around 79.6 years old.^[8]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2013)

In Belarus, gender roles still remain very traditional. Some of these roles assigned to women are deeply seated in the country's patriarchal culture.

Gender rights

In Belarus, many people, including women, do not view the unequal status of women as a social injustice. As a result women's rights^[5] are widely seen as not important.

Married women in Belarus are entitled to retain personal and private property, income, investments, and other assets earned by them.^[5]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2013)

Feminist groups in Belarus first appeared in 1991, and then more were formed onwards. These organizations included the Union of Women in Belarus (formerly known as the Belarusian Committee of Soviet Women), the League of Women in Belarus, the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, the Women's Christian-Democratic Movement, the Belarusian feminist movement "For the Renaissance of the Fatherland", the League of Women-Electors, and the Women's Liberal Association.^[5] The beginning of the 21st century brought a change in the women's movement in Belarus. The movement started to become more structured and as a result the most effective women's organizations emerged with more defined priorities. The “Hope” party which was actually established in 1994 chose to focus on the problem of women’s involvement in politics. Another organization that emerged was the Young Women’s Christian Association of Belarus and their main focus is on the issue of the white slave trade. The Belarusian Organization of Working Women primarily deals with human rights and social issues in the country. One of the most prominent women's organization to emerge was the Women’s Independent Democratic Movement. The organization promotes political and economic competence among all citizens as well as gender equality.^[10]  

On 28 September 2021, during the government-led attack on NGOs (see Human rights in Belarus#Pressure on NGOs), the Supreme Court of Belarus forcibly liquidated the "Gender perspectives" NGO (Russian: Гендерные перспективы) which promoted the women rights in Belarus by withstanding gender discrimination and domestic violence. GP collaborated with the government on legal issues concerning women and hosted the national hot line for victims of domestic violence which took approximately 15,000 calls in 10 years. After the court liquidated this organization, its team claimed that the government "doesn't care about the needs of a huge number of women experiencing domestic violence or gender discrimination".^[11]

In 2020 and 2021, there were a series of protests in Belarus in the lead up to the presidential elections, and women took important roles in leading and defining the revolutionary momentum.^[12]

Prior to the election, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko had been repeatedly accused of misogynistic or sexist remarks and behavior which denigrate the dignity of women.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]} Despite the appointed of women such as Natalya Kochanova to high government positions, their roles were often considered tokenistic.^[14]

In 2020, Lukashenko was seeking to extend his 26 year reign as president by running for his sixth term.^[20] He had jailed or exiled his male opponents in the presidential race.^[12] So, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Maria Kolesnikova, and Veronika Tsepkalo, formed a political alliance and backed Tikhanovskaya as their mutual candidate to run for president against Lukshenko.^[12]

Lukashenko's misogynistic statements became more frequent. 29 May 2020, he claimed that a woman could not become the president, because the "Constitution is not made for a woman". In June, he commented on this issue again: "Our Constitution is such that even for a man this [presidency] is a heavy burden. And if one placed it on a woman, she would collapse, poor thing".^[21][14] Lukashenko's statements were widely broadcast on television. Simultaneously, the authorities started smear campaigns aimed on women active in politics and women partners of male activists.^[14] According to Amnesty International report, politically active women were threatened with sexual violence and having their children taken into custody.^[14]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2024)

• List of Belarus-related topics