Fighting for LGBTQ rights and for Ukraine
As in many post-Soviet countries, homophobia remains a big issue in Ukraine. But the country is slowly changing, and fighters are contributing to that. DW correspondent Max Zander met with activists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
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00:00 Stasia and her fellow activists want to be visible,
00:04 even though they know not everyone will be happy to see them.
00:08 As we speak, Stasia, who helps organize Kharkiv Pride,
00:12 gets news of an anti-LGBT protest elsewhere in town.
00:16 They're used to that kind of hostility.
00:27 We are a democratic country.
00:30 I don't see any problems if this is how they want to show their opposition.
00:34 It's better than harassment, threats, beating people,
00:40 which happens very often after Pride.
00:44 They're more worried about Russian missile attacks.
00:49 That's one reason why only a handful of people showed up.
00:52 Another is that many have left town,
00:55 but also some are fighting the Russians.
00:58 The cutouts represent those who are absent.
01:01 "No rainbow without yellow and blue," this one reads.
01:05 The colors of the Ukrainian flag.
01:08 The signs of Pride don't last long.
01:12 So not even two hours later, some of the cutouts are already missing,
01:16 and they were brought not too far away.
01:19 As you can see right here, let me pull one out for you.
01:24 This one says, this could be Marichka,
01:27 which is at the front line evacuating the wounded.
01:30 Some of the guys who did this are still at work.
01:34 And it appears not camera shy.
01:37 I don't think now is the time for a promotional campaign for this.
01:43 It would be more logical if instead of these posters,
01:46 there were photos of boys who died in the war for our country.
01:50 They sacrificed their lives not only for free Kharkiv,
01:53 but also for Ukraine.
01:55 By the time curfew hits at 11 o'clock,
02:02 most of the cutouts are gone, destroyed or defaced.
02:05 Ukrainian law still only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman.
02:12 But surveys show more than half of Ukrainians support same-sex marriage,
02:16 and about a quarter oppose it.
02:20 These are intimate matters.
02:22 No matter what one's sexual orientation,
02:25 there is no need to show it to people.
02:28 They are not affecting anyone else with this.
02:32 Everyone has the right to love whoever they want.
02:36 A draft law to recognize civil unions between people of the same gender
02:42 was introduced to Ukraine's parliament earlier this year.
02:46 That would be a major step for the entire queer community,
02:50 especially those fighting in this war.
02:53 Stasia's partner Alina is a career soldier.
02:56 She's just returned home from her unit for a break.
02:59 She doesn't hide her sexuality from her comrades,
03:03 but says reactions have been mixed.
03:06 The couple held a mock wedding with friends.
03:09 We have real photos.
03:14 We have a video of the ceremony.
03:16 But we still can't get married in Ukraine.
03:20 So it's difficult to pretend it was something personal.
03:24 We still can't get married.
03:26 She also knows, like all other queer soldiers,
03:32 that if she is hurt or killed,
03:35 her partner will have no rights to make decisions.
03:38 We want legal protection for our family.
03:42 To plan a life together, you need protection from the state.
03:46 We need recognition of who we really are,
03:49 and we are a family.
03:51 That family is fighting for Ukraine's future,
03:56 and their place within it.
03:59 it.
03:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]