Women’s Verdict

We hate you at home and at work, in the barracks and in sewing shops.

Every year, ahead of March 8, the Belarusian state starts drooling with sugary sentiment, overwhelmed by emotion — awarding mothers of multiple children with yet another batch of medals, sending out congratulatory messages to workplaces, and delivering speeches from high podiums. One moment, Lukashenka comes up with something new, like claiming, "Every third child is mine." The next, security forces, having locked away their batons and shields, suddenly take to the streets with flowers. Meanwhile, ideological ladies urge Belarusian women to have at least three children, as their boss has decreed.

And just yesterday, Shpileuskaia, the former head of the ideological department of Lukashenka's administration — exiled to the Women's Union for some unknown sins against the state — was shaming Belarusian women at a press conference, claiming they marry too late and have their first child at 30. And this is no good, because by the age of 30, every conscious Belarusian woman should already have at least two. At 30, a third child should be born, remembering Lukashenka's order: to have at least three children in the family!

Well, the political prisoner Hanna Ablab has just three – just as the state would like. The mother of multiple children, a reserve officer, and a railway employee—a senior engineer in the train schedule development department—was arrested in October 2021 as part of the "strike committee case" and sentenced to 11 years in prison for treason against the state. The one who loves children so much and appreciates mothers with many children.

Tatsiana Berazavets from Kobryn also has three children. On August 10, 2020, Tatsiana and her husband Viacheslau went out to protest in their hometown. At that time, her husband was detained on administrative charges, but in September of last year, both of them were arrested on criminal charges—under the "people’s" article—for that very protest action. Since then, Tatsiana and her husband have been in pre-trial detention, while their children are in state custody. As early as November, the Kobryn District Court was reviewing a lawsuit filed by the local Department of Education against Tatsiana and Viachaslau "to recover expenses incurred by the state for the care of children in state custody." This means that their three children were taken to an orphanage, and Tatsiana and Viachaslau were labled as "obligated" to the state

Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk told me about such "obliged" women: in the Rechytsa prison for recidivists, most of them are. The scheme is as follows: children are taken away from them and are obliged to reimburse the costs to the state. These women become serfs, because it is impossible to break out of such a circle. The police assign them to the most unqualified and strenuous work, and then the state takes 70 percent of their meager earnings. And when the amount left in her hands is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes and a bag of candies, the woman realizes that it's impossible to live on this money. First they try, then they quit the damn job and try to find another one. But they do not have time – they are sent to the colony under Article 174 – evasion of reimbursement to the state of expenses for the maintenance of children. There, the terms are short, but after the release, everything starts over again. They return to the Rechytsa prison every year and indefinitely. As for Tatsiana Berazavets, sending parents with many children to a pre-trial detention center for participating in one protest action four years ago is the attitude of the authorities to the family, to children, to a person.

Yuliya Laptanovich from Pruzhany, like Hanna Ablab and Tatsiana Berazavets, has three children. She was tried for a "round dance case" as well as her husband. Her husband was imprisoned, Yuliya was sentenced to three years of probation. Then they came with a search warrant and arrested for "financing extremist activities" — they found a penny donation. Yuliya was sentenced to five years, and at the end of January they were brought from the colony to Brest to be tried for the third time – now for facilitating extremist activities. During this time, Yuliya's mother Tatsiana Vasilyeva was also convicted in the "grocery case" — for helping other political prisoners. Indeed, it is boring to put mothers with many children behind a donut or round dance – let's put them and grandmothers before a bunch of husbands, let the children know from an early age who is in charge here.

Nadzeya Laptsionak has two daughters, a disabled son and a six-year prison sentence for comments. Liudmila Likhacheuskaya has three children, a term in a Homel colony and a husband in prison. Viktoryia Domastoi, who, having three minor children, still managed to help political prisoners and transferred money to them in jail, is still awaiting trial – the second year in prison. Natallia Davydulina has five children. One of her sons, Dzianis, had already visited a political prisoner – he was arrested at the age of 19, served a year and a half for participating in protests and left. And Natallia continued to help other political prisoners. For this, she was sentenced to three years in prison.

Have you noticed why mothers with many children are imprisoned, about whom they like to shout so much from the stands? For helping others, for participating in a strike, for going on a march. They imprison women along with their husbands and sons, imprisoning them brutally and perversely. Then they tell how important it is to have children – to take them away while they are small, or to plant them when they grow up. And they cheerfully shout "women, you are our pride and treasure!".

Don't shout, don't waste your energy. You scoundrels are hated by everyone – those with many children and childless, married and single, in exile and in prisons. They hate you infinitely and limitlessly. They hate you at home and at work, in a barracks and not in a seamstress, in their youth and adulthood. And believe me, pouring kerosene on a Bickford cord is not a good idea.

Iryna Khalip, especially for Charter97.org

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