For Ukraine, now in its fourth year of full-scale war, this day carries particular weight. Women across the country have taken on extraordinary roles, responding to immediate crises while helping to shape the foundations of Ukraine that will emerge after the war.
The Nansen Project
Through the Nansen project, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee works with human rights defenders across Ukraine. A defining feature among all our partners is that women hold key positions, regardless of the type of human rights work they engage in.
Across the country, our partners document war crimes, support survivors of human rights violations, strengthen civil society resilience, advocate for democratic reforms, defend groups at heightened risk, and push forward anti-corruption efforts and investigative journalism. Their work is indispensable for peacebuilding, accountability, and the rule of law.
Women, Peace and Security in Action
The Women, Peace and Security agenda affirms that sustainable peace is impossible without the meaningful participation of women at all levels of decision-making. In Ukraine, and throughout our Nansen partnerships, this principle comes to life daily in the civic sector.
Women lead organizations and networks, run shelters and legal aid programs, manage investigative media, advocate for justice in international forums, and shape policies guiding Ukraine’s recovery. Their perspectives ensure that reconstruction reflects the rights and needs of all Ukrainians, not only those historically represented in security and political spheres.
Defending a Democratic Future
The Nansen partners work to support development of a strong and resilient civil society in Ukraine, to support investigating journalism and anti-corruption processes, and to defend survivors of gender-based violence and persecution, homophobia, and transphobia.
Executive Directors Oleksandra Romantsova and Yevgeniya Kubakh, from Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) and the Kyiv Human Rights HUB lead the Nansen projects effort to support new human rights initiatives across the country, and provide training, coordination, and collaboration among human rights defenders and organizations. Known to many in Norway as the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, CCL continues to document war crimes, defend civil liberties, and support democratic building. Together with with Kyiv Human Rights HUB they help build capacity, offer support, and prepare civil society for the enormous tasks that lie ahead as Ukraine works toward peace and reconstruction.
Making womens voices heard
Making sure that women and minorities rights is at the core of human rights policies in Ukraine is a deliberate choice in the Nansen project. War affects women disproportionately in many aspects. Among the most brutal ones is sexual violence, strategically used in warfare. The Ukrainian Women Lawyers Association JurFem provides essential legal support to survivors and helps them seek justice in court. Head of the organization, Khrystyna Kit, is a pioneer in combating gender-based violence and persecution in Ukraine.
Important to the fight against gender-based violence and for a future where the rights of all Ukrainians are respected is the feminist movement and LGBTIQ+ organizations. In the Nansen project we have partnered with Insight Public Organization, a leading LGBTQI+ group and a driving force in the feminist movement. Chairperson Olena Shevchenko, winner of the Norwegian government’s winner of the Kim Friele award for LGBTIQ+ advocates, works to make the feminist movement more visible and to encourage broader participation. During the war they have both stepped in with substantive humanitarian assistance, and made sure that women- and LGBTIQ perspectives are heard in policy discussions.
Revealing abuse of power
Supporting a democratic and human rights based future for Ukraine also means to reveal abuse of power and corruption. Civil society has an indispensible role to play in this process.
Nansen partner Bihus.Info, is an independent investigative journalism team known for uncovering corruption and abuses of authority. Even during the war, they continue to expose wrongdoing and defend journalistic integrity at great personal risk. Media lawyers Mariia Muzychka and Yelyzaveta Seredina play a crucial role through Bihus’ legal initiative “Tysny” (“Push”), which provides comprehensive legal support to the team — from fact-checking and preparing formal requests to law enforcement, to defending journalists in court.
Automaidan, originally a grassroots movement from the Revolution of Dignity, remains a vibrant civic force in the fight against corruption and abuse of power. The organization works to fight corruption within state power agencies and to mobilize civil society to demand accountability.
A Just Peace
Together, these organizations reflect the diversity and strength of Ukraine’s human rights movement. Women human rights defenders are not only responding to the trauma of war; they are shaping a democratic Ukraine built on accountability, justice, and equality.
On 29 November — and every day — their work reminds us that peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but the presence of active, courageous, and inclusive leadership.