Women and state-violence in post-electoral Belarus

The object of research which is presented in this paper is the state violence directed against women which is defined as the use of governmental authority to cause unnecessary harm and suffering to groups and individuals. In post-electoral Belarus, questions regarding input legitimacy of governmental authority are purely rhetorical. We argue that repressive reactions to post-electoral protest movements paved innovative ways of gendered protests in Belarus. As women engaged more daringly into the protest actions, the complexity of local and central actors and institutions, collaborating in production of the “state violence” became more perceptible. Within the process of political violence and variable usage of repressive practices, the state itself has been transformed, as its output legitimacy and political institutions suffered. Meanwhile, social authority of oppositional leaders (most are imprisoned or live in exile), and protest activities are sustained among parts of Belarusian population (including Belarusians abroad), newly and painfully sensitized to gendered state-building practices. The 2020 presidential election and subsequent protests in Belarus challenged the apparent stability of the non-democratic regime (Moshes, Nizhnikau 2021). Different social groups took part in the intensive domestic protests in August – November 2020 when it was suppressed by harsh repressions. Women of different age, professional occupation, and income form one of such protest groups in Belarus. Since late 2021, female activists, on the one hand, continue to perform a wide range of political-civic activities. On the other, they themselves became a target of repressions. We analyze two types of repressions which are: a) focused on individual women, b) aimed at their family-members (children). As for February 2022, there are around 150 female political prisoners in Belarus which is a big number as such, although it makes a smaller share within the total amount of more than 1000 political prisoners. Female political activism in Belarus raise questions regarding the role of women in protest mobilization and invite reflection on patterns of violent and repressive reactions of the authorities towards it. What are the main reasons of female mobilization in Belarusian protests? How authoritarian authorities react towards female protest activities? Which specific repressive practices and forms of violence do they use towards women-rebels? The ideological grounds and instruments of repressive practices directed at women-rebels deserve a comprehensive analysis. This empirical observation driven study aims to analyze the tools and content of these targeted repressions. The presentation is based on the results from field research (a series of semi-structured interviews) with the Belarusian female activists, participant observation of the authors and analysis of data regarding state violence from available databases and datasets. Firstly, we make an overview of the female agency in the pro-democratic protests and post-electoral period in Belarus. Then we provide insights from the previous research concerning the practices of state-instigated gendered violence against female activists. In the second part, we investigate women’s protest activities in Belarus and reflect on their tools and content. Finally, we analyze state gender-based violence and its practices during and after the active protest period.