Ukrainian Women on the Battlefield
Equality in Times of War?
With Magda Szpecht and Kateryna Mishchenko
Moderation: Sabine Adler
- Dialogue
English /
approx. 90 mins.
Although the military mobilization of women is not mandatory, the number has been growing since 2014, joining the ranks of the army and in 2024 it reached at least 67,000. The commitment of Ukrainian women to defending their country shows that women are playing an increasingly important role in modern warfare. The significant increase in the number of female soldiers on the front line and women supporting the war effort in a variety of ways – including mine clearance, drone defence, and civil and medical services – is also having a strong impact on women’s self-determination and equality in Ukrainian society.
Following the show of “She Stands in the Middle of the Battlefield” on 24 February, there will be a discussion entitled “Ukrainian Women on the Battlefield: Equality in Times of War?” about women and war in Ukraine – with Polish director Magda Szpecht and Ukrainian essayist and translator Kateryna Mishchenko, moderated by journalist Sabine Adler (Deutschlandfunk).
Kateryna Mishchenko is an essayist, translator and publisher in Kyiv. She has worked as an interpreter in the field of human rights and was co-founder of the magazine Prostory. She publishes essays in international magazines and anthologies. In 2022/23, she was a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. In 2023, she published a book edited together with Katharina Raabe entitled “Aus dem Nebel des Krieges. Die Gegenwart der Ukraine” (From the Fog of War: The Present of Ukraine). The second volume “Geteilter Horizont. Die Zukunft der Ukraine” (Divided Horizon: The Future of Ukraine), followed in 2025. She lives in Berlin.
Magda Szpecht is a multi-award-winning director and author of performances and installations. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, Szpecht has also been involved in cyber activism. In works such as “Cyber Elf” (2022), “Spy Girls” (2024) and “She Stands in the Middle of the Battlefield” (2025), she combines theatre, journalism and digital counter-propaganda into a performative practice at the intersection of art and political action. Magda Szpecht lives in Warsaw.
Sabine Adler is a long-standing reporter for Deutschlandfunk. As an expert on Eastern Europe, she reported from Moscow for many years, was head of the capital studio in Berlin and correspondent at the Eastern Europe studio in Warsaw. She has received numerous awards for her work, including “Political Journalist of the Year”. In 2024, she received the “Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media” and was nominated for the NDR Non-Fiction Prize and the German Business Book Prize for her book “Was wird aus Russland?” (What will become of Russia?). Her books “Die Ukraine und wir” (Ukraine and us) and “Was wird aus Russland?” (What will become of Russia?) became “Spiegel” bestsellers. Sabine Adler lives in Berlin.
Dates
Current
Location
HAU2
Hallesches Ufer 34, 10963 BerlinThere are two marked parking spots in front of the building. Barrier-free restroom facilities are available. Four relaxed seats are available in the first row of HAU2.
