WOMEN LEADERS DIVIDED ON POTENTIAL FOR WOMEN'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000550

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
DEPT FOR G/IWI, EUR/UMB, EUR/ACE
KIEV FOR USAID

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL BO
SUBJECT: WOMEN LEADERS DIVIDED ON POTENTIAL FOR WOMEN'S
MOVEMENT

REF: MINSK 312

Classified By: Ambassador Karen Stewart for reason 1.4 (d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) In a recent lunch with Ambassador, several prominent
women leaders praised the creation of a newly formed U.S.
NGO-sponsored women's network that seeks to promote both
women and democracy in Belarus. However, a number of
prominent women leaders were quite discouraged about the
network's ability to unite women or to affect change.
Arguing that women would not work together without either a
strong unifying theme or the carrot of western funding, they
predicted a dim, short future for the network. While it
appears that the network will not attract all women leaders,
post views initiatives that aim to bring women leaders
together in an effort to work for democratic change in
Belarus as positive developments. End summary.

Creation of Women's Network Formalized; MOU Signed in Kyiv
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2. (C) In a meeting with Poloff on June 21, Belarusian
Women's League Head Nina Stuzhinskaya reported that the
leaders of 15 Belarusian women's groups met in Kyiv over June
16-17 to formalize the creation of the U.S. NGO NDI-funded
women's network in Belarus (reftel). During the conference,
the women leaders signed a memorandum of partnership in which
they agreed to work together to enhance the role of women in
all spheres of society and to promote democratic change in
Belarus. Their stated goals are to increase the influence of
women on social and political problems in the country,
promote gender equality, and defend women's interests. In
addition, the participants created a platform with an action
plan for distribution among the general public in order to
advertise the network's goals and future projects.


3. (C) The participants also established a general council
and a governing board. The general council, which includes a
representative from each of the participating women's groups,
is responsible for setting the direction and activities of
the network. The governing board, which has one
representative from each of the regions in which the women's
groups operate, was designed to be a more flexible,
quick-response body that will meet regularly to implement the
general council's directives. Stuzhinskaya told Poloff that
the participants agreed to reconvene in Kyiv at the beginning
of July to report on what resources each group is able to
contribute to the network and to set the action plan for the
following year.

Some Women Leaders Are Optimistic About Network...
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4. (C) Lamenting the small role of women in national politics
at a recent lunch with Ambassador, Women's Independent
Democratic Movement Head Lyudmila Petina praised the creation
of a women's network and a broader women's movement as means
to increase women's influence in Belarus. Kobrin Women's
Club "Bona" Head Alla Sapezhinskaya told Ambassador that such
a network would give women a chance to shape civil society
and to encourage women to work together to overcome the fear
that usually prevents them from defending their rights.
Stuzhinskaya viewed the network as a means to distribute
information about themes that are important to women and to
encourage solidarity amongst pro-democratic women. (Note:
Petina, Sapezhinskaya, and Stuzhinskaya -- obvious strong
supporters of the women's network -- all attended the recent
founding conference in Kyiv. End note.)

...Others, However, Dismiss Potential of Women's Movement
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5. (C) United Civic Party Deputy and NGO Human Rights
Alliance Head Lyudmila Gryaznova, however, was very
pessimistic about the prospects for creating a united women's
movement, especially given the lack of a common goal or
purpose to unify women. She noted that women need a strong
stimulus to become active. Therefore, Gryaznova believes
there is a better chance of uniting Belarusian women in
efforts to solve concrete social problems than convincing
them to become members of an amorphous women's network -- a
"social club" as she called it -- that lacks purpose and
direction. When Poloff suggested democracy promotion as a

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possible unifying theme for the network, Gryaznova countered
that since the entire opposition wants democracy, there was
no sense to further divide the group into separate men and
women pro-democracy camps. Gryaznova also added that past
attempts to organize women's movements failed and left a bad
impression on Belarusians.


6. (C) Belarusian Association of Women Lawyers' Chairperson
Galina Drebezova argued that it would be impossible to form a
national women's coalition that was unified around a common
theme because no universal women's issues exist in Belarus.
She claimed that each region has its own unique set of issues
thereby making it next to impossible to find common national
issues to unite all women leaders.


7. (C) Belarusian Organization of Working Women Head Irina
Zhikhar told Poloff on June 22 that women leaders worked well
together during the 2006 presidential election because
everyone shared the common goal of trying to remove President
Lukashenko from power. Zhikhar claimed, however, that the
nascent women's coalition that had formed during this time
would have collapsed after the elections if NDI had not
pledged funds for its continuation. According to Zhikhar,
Belarusian women, if left to their own initiatives, would not
come together to create such a movement, which indicates to
her that the donors are more interested in the success of the
network than the members.


8. (C) Gryaznova recommended that women leaders should focus
their efforts on changing Belarusians' mentality and
stereotypes about women through information campaigns. She
also suggested that increasing foreign support, both
financial and moral, for emerging and current women
professionals, particularly in the fields of education,
literature, and journalism, would do more to promote women
leaders than the current network.

Comment
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9. (C) Getting Belarusian opposition leaders to come to a
consensus and coordinate continues to be an obstacle. Post
notes the important role a common goal or event can play in
bringing people together but sees no reason why democracy
promotion could not be that theme. Despite allegations about
some women leaders' motives for participating in the network,
post considers the network to be a positive development and
we will continue to support initiatives that aim to bring
established and up-and-coming women leaders together in an
effort to work for democratic change in Belarus.
Stewart