Healthcare, corruption, union rights and gender violence are just some of many issues the world doesn’t get to see, says Ukrainian journalist Kateryna Semchuk
The way that Ukrainians fight for a better country during wartime, even with limited options for influencing decision-making, gives hope for its future. People have tried to preserve their right to protest. Notably, a petition for the legalisation of same-sex marriagemore than 28,000 signatures last summer – the threshold beyond which the president must formally consider a proposal.
As Ukraine continues to be argued over in international capitals, such initiatives are a reminder that ordinary Ukrainians – and not just their leaders – should have a right to decide their country’s future. Journalists are a part of that fight, too. Despite the war, I and my colleagues have continued to report on grassroots activism and investigate corruption. Our independence must be guaranteed.
Fighting for change in Ukraine during wartime doesn’t undermine its integrity, and shouldn’t be used as a tool to argue against Ukraine’s independence. It is a basic right in an independent country, which people have put their lives on the line for. Kateryna Semchuk is Ukraine correspondent for openDemocracy, whose oDR project covers politics and society in post-Soviet states
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