Coming from a community where men are always considered super powers and where the society thinks that men are the providers and women are homemakers, Nadia Tutarieva has made a difference in transforming women in her locality in Ukraine. And this has won her a place among the other leaders in the 20 Years of Women, Peace, and Power of UN Women on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325.
Twenty five year old Nadia Tutarieva teaches in her local village. She is also the co-founder of Girls of Chuhinka, an organization running self-help workshops and promoting gender equality in her community. On her turning towards an activist and peaebuilder, she says that she got the strength from the women who brought her up.
After her father died when she was just eight, Tutarieva was brought up by women who taught her to confront all the stereotypes. Added by her mother’s advice to take the responsibility of her life on her own along with her determination, she made her stand out in the society.
She was living in a region which was affected by the ongoing conflict from 2014 between Ukraine and Russia. She has seen many atrocities against women and children. She could see the trauma in women and children who were displaced due to the violence. After coming across the plight of women and children, Tutarieva launched the Girls of Chuhinka, a civil society organization. She started this with two other local women for promoting gender equality and increase women’s role in peace building measures.
The organisation is now working along with about 40 local women running self-help groups. Women represent about 53 per cent of the population in Ukraine. But only a few women are involved in policy or decision-making. She feels that changes should have to come up so that the women in her community are empowered.
