The Sens bookstore on Khreshchatyk Street has become an iconic cultural hub. It’s always bustling, no matter when you visit. The venue regularly hosts book launches, author talks, lectures, and discussions. Recently, it was also the site of the presentation of the documentary Be Her Voice, produced by Suspilne in cooperation with Women in Media and supported by the Ukrainian Women’s Fund.
On the ground floor, the coffee shop is packed — every table is taken, and people are lining up for coffee and dessert. It’s just as crowded near the bookshelves and at the checkout. Upstairs, the hall is filled with guests who have come for the pre-premiere screening of the documentary. Upon arrival, attendees are invited to choose a commemorative bracelet made by women using clay extracted in Sloviansk. The bracelets are inscribed with words like Women Power, Light in You, Sisterhood, and more. I choose Women Power — it speaks to me. After all, isn’t that what the film is all about?
Stories of Women in Leadership
The film features five women of different ages, backgrounds, and regions. They are: Olena Solonenko, head of the Women of Lebedyn Community NGO; Zinaiida Prokopenko, an awareness-raising expert in the Roma Mobile Brigade at the Winds of Change Charity Foundation; Liudmyla Ishchenko, an activist with the Women of Lebedyn Community; Iryna Soloshenko, a volunteer and head of the Medical Department at the Kolo Charitable Foundation; and Kateryna Babarykina, an activist with the Malvy Self-Help Group. The project aims to highlight women’s involvement in decision-making, leadership in local self-government, entrepreneurship, and social initiatives.
“Women’s leadership can take many forms. It can be quiet, or it can be loud. It exists in big cities, small towns, villages, and local communities. The film doesn’t define what women’s leadership is — instead, it tells the stories of its many expressions,” said Anastasiia Hudyma, Director of the Department for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunities.
Creative producer and director Olena Kryvenko noted that she was surprised by how many female activists there are in Ukraine.
“It was very difficult for us to choose whose stories to tell. So we decided to feature women from different regions, involved in various activities — from small villages to big cities, from modest projects to large-scale initiatives. We wanted to show how it all works, how women connect and support one another,” the director shared.
Three of the film’s heroines — Zinaiida Prokopenko, Iryna Soloshenko, and Olena Solonenko — attended the presentation. They are very different, yet united by a common superpower: care. They don’t wait for someone else to act — they take the initiative and get things done. Each of them shared stories of women who had supported them, or whom they themselves had supported.
Zinaiida is a Roma activist and blogger. Her mission is to help as many Roma girls as possible access education and to reduce the number of early marriages that occur without the girls’ consent.
Zinaiida shared the story of a girl named Angelina, who dreamed of continuing her education, not just finishing school, but also going to college. However, her parents were afraid to let her go. Zinaiida supported Angelina, saw herself in her, and took the time to speak with the girl’s parents. She explained that there was nothing wrong with pursuing an education and a career. She told them her own story — how her father had once refused to let her study, but eventually realized that his daughter needed to learn.
“This year, Angelina is enrolling in the university to study law.
She realized she also wants to defend women’s rights, especially within the Roma community. It felt like a small victory for me, knowing they were inspired by my example. And it will warm my heart if there are many more stories like this,” said Zinaiida Prokopenko. Olena Solonenko is an activist, changemaker, and community mobilizer with the Ukrainian Women’s Fund. Fleeing the war in 2014, she resettled in the Sumy region. Until 2022, she was a homemaker, but that year marked the beginning of her social activism. She helped establish a barrier-free gynecological office and opened a sewing studio.
Olena says her journey into activism began with the support of Yuliia Smirnova, the Sumy coordinator of the Ukrainian Women’s Fund, who encouraged her to become a community mobilizer in the Lebedyn community. Before that, Olena had no experience with project-based work.
“I stopped being a homemaker. I began working with joy. Every project feels like my baby — something I nurture carefully and help bring to life,” she says.
Iryna Soloshenko is a volunteer, medic, and participant in the Revolution of Dignity. Thanks to her initiative, the system for evacuating the wounded has been transformed: Ukrzaliznytsia train cars were converted into mobile intensive care units and fully equipped medical wards.
Iryna draws inspiration from her mother, who continues to work at the age of 76. Seeing her, Iryna knows she has someone to look up to. Her daughter, who has bravely faced a serious illness, is another powerful source of strength. Iryna says that her volunteer work helped her cope during her daughter’s hospital stay. Together with her husband Serhii, they personally renovated wards at the National Cancer Institute.
“I’m happy that I can help,” she emphasized.
The Power of Support
The organizers and project authors emphasized the importance of supporting women and being each other’s voices. In fact, the story of Women in Media began with such support. Head of the organization, Liza Kuzmenko, recalled the incident that sparked the NGO’s creation. In 2018, during a press conference, President Petro Poroshenko referred to journalist Maryna Baranivska as “my dear girl,” prompting widespread public criticism. Later, at a meeting with journalist Iryna Zemliana, someone repeated that phrase — “Come on, my dear girl” — to which Liza firmly responded, “I’m not your dear girl.” That moment inspired the idea to create T-shirts with the slogan I’m not your dear girl.
“What followed was an outpouring of support from colleagues. Everyone agreed that it’s absolutely unacceptable for politicians to address journalists in such a sexist and dismissive way. That moment marked the birth of our community,” shared Liza Kuzmenko. “We began gathering for peer support groups, where journalists would sit in a circle and speak openly about their struggles — how to balance motherhood and work, cope with impostor syndrome, deal with burnout, or ask for fair pay when men are earning more for the same job. Over time, those conversations grew into a public organization that now runs powerful projects.”
The first organization to support Women in Media was the Ukrainian Women’s Fund.
Nataliia Karbovska, co-founder and Director of Strategic Development at the Ukrainian Women’s Fund, shared a personal story. When her daughter was in school, the girls were taught cooking and sewing during crafts lessons, while the boys were given an extra computer science class. This injustice was infuriating, but at the time, there was little she could do to change it. Years later, her daughter — now an adult and a mother herself — stood up for the next generation of girls. When the school planned to congratulate only boys on Defender’s Day, she didn’t stay silent and asked, “Aren’t the girls defenders as well?”
“Now I can confidently say that I brought my daughter’s voice — she was ten at the time — into the women’s movement. I want to encourage all of you to be the voice for those who share your values, those you believe in and want to support. Because the more our voices come together, the stronger and louder we’ll be heard,” Nataliia said.
Svitlana Ostapa, head of the Supervisory Board of the National Public Television and Radio Company of Ukraine also shared her story. One day, neighbors asked Svitlana to visit a woman named Elia who lived in their building. She had changed a lot recently and lost a significant amount of weight. The residents had collected some money and wanted to help. So Svitlana went to see her. She discovered that Elia’s son was seriously ill, the family was living in extreme poverty, and they were struggling with paperwork issues. Later, it turned out that Elia herself had cancer. With Svitlana’s help, both mother and son were placed in a shelter.
“Elia only stayed in the shelter for three months, but she wrote me a letter saying those were the happiest months she’d had in years. I was deeply moved by that,” Svitlana shared.
Tetiana Lomakina, Advisor and Presidential Commissioner for a Barrier-Free Environment, shared the story of a girl with cerebral palsy who was thrown out of a store by a security guard. Tetiana spoke with the girl and her mother. Although the security guard was eventually fired, she emphasized that this isn’t enough — he could simply find another job, and the same thing might happen again. That’s why, she said, raising public awareness is essential. Tetiana also spoke about her friend Aurora, who wore a male military uniform. That experience sparked change at the national level. With Tetiana’s help, Aurora joined the Ministry of Defense, and work began on creating comfortable, properly designed uniforms for women in the military.
“Aurora designed the uniforms, we tested them with women, and they provided feedback. The result is incredible. So far, 60,000 sets of summer field uniforms have already been produced. It was a tremendous effort — all volunteer work by Aurora and her team — to make this happen. Today, it’s officially a Ministry of Defense standard to provide female service members with properly designed women’s uniforms,” Tetiana said.
Zola Kondur, Project Manager at the Council of Europe, shared a story from 2010, when a Roma woman approached her asking for help on behalf of another woman who was about to be released from prison. Without support, she warned, the woman would likely end up behind bars again.
“I didn’t hesitate for a second, I had no doubts. We hired her right away, and she began learning. For her, it was all completely new — a different life. Two years later, when I visited Donetsk for monitoring, I stopped by her family’s home. Her mother and sister told me they never believed a Roma woman could work and earn a living. I’m so glad we were able to show them that other opportunities exist, that a completely different life is possible,” Zola Kondur shared.
In times of war, every story of success is often accompanied by pain and loss. Liza Kuzmenko, head of Women in Media, reminded the audience that journalist Victoriia Roshchyna was killed by Russia after being illegally held captive. On the very day of the film presentation, it was confirmed that her body had been returned to Ukraine. She had been deliberately held for an extended period to prevent identification of the cause of death, yet signs of torture were still found.
In memory of Victoriia and all those who have lost their lives during the war, the participants observed a minute of silence.
In moments like these, alongside the grief and sense of loss, there is also pride — pride in women who stand by one another, who don’t stop in the face of tragedy, but go even further: for themselves, and for those who can no longer continue the journey with them.
Anastasiia Hudyma, Director of the Department for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunities at Suspilne, emphasized that what remains is for us to live and to keep supporting one another.
“We don’t choose the times we live in, and unfortunately, ours is a time of anxiety and loss. But let both women and men know: we can and must support one another. That support is essential in these difficult times,” Anastasiia Hudyma concluded.
The film Be Her Voice is available to watch on the Suspilne YouTube channel.
Author: Olena Kushchenko, journalist for Women in Media
This material is part of the media education project Be Her Voice, implemented by the NGO Women in Media in cooperation with NCRTB JSC, with expert support from the Ukrainian Women’s Fund (UWF). Women in Media is solely responsible for the content of this material. The views expressed in the film do not necessarily reflect those of the UWF.