In Belarus, it is dangerous to be an opposition politician and fight for democratic values.  For a female politician,the hardships double.  According to Olga Karach, member of the Women’s Democracy Network (WDN) in Belarus, women are at the forefront of the strugglefor democracyand human rights in Belarus.  They are the wives of the opposition leaders who lead the struggle for democracy, serving as a strong pillar of support.  They operate nongovernment organizations, run for elected offices and manage the offices of pro-democratic parties.  Most importantly, they stand side by side with other opposition members who dare to speak against injustice, and suffer greatly as a result.

On December 19, 2010, the presidential election took place in Belarus.  The Central Election Commission announced that President Alexander Lukashenko overwhelmingly won re-election with 79.7 percent of the vote.  However, many election observers, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, assessed that “almost half of vote counts monitored were assessed as bad or very bad.” 

Due to accusations of fraud, 10,000 democratic activists gathered in Minsk at government headquarters to denounce the elections.  Riot police clashed with democratic activists and as a result of the violent confrontation, 600 protestors were arrested on election night including seven of the nine opposition candidates.  In addition to the opposition candidates, police showed specific vehemence towards female democratic activists during the election protests.  According to confirmed reports, women, young and old, were savagely beaten and spared no consideration during the crackdown.

Karach is highlighting the violence against Belarusian women through her civic activism.  She has been a member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists for 11 years and is the director of the International Centerfor Gender Initiatives, known as ADLIGA: Women for Full Citizenship.  In addition, since 2005, Karach has served as director of Our House, a nongovernmental organization that seeks to educate children about their government and promote human rights and in Belarus.  Our House published an article detailing post-election violence against women including police breaking into their private residences, mass arrests, beatings and jail detentions.  

This repression has not deterred female activists like Karach, who is urging the international community to take action and promote gender equality in Belarus.  Similarly, WDN member Nataliya Zajtseva from Mogiliov recounts the horrible events she witnessed on Election Day. However, she states that “she is not afraid.  Only angered.  This was the beginning of the end of the Dictatorship.”

Karach supports the efforts of organizations like WDN which facilitate the exchange of experiences among female activists and politicians from different countries which offers a support network, and for providing trainings on the importance of gender equality and mainstreaming.  WND applauds the efforts of members like Karach and Zajtseva as they show solidarity with the female activistswho suffer at the hands of dictatorialregimes.