Pavel Latushka: Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management, Ambassador
From the very beginning of the protests, women were not merely alongside their male counterparts, but leading the charge. They inspired and became an example of indomitable spirit for all of us.
Pavel Latushka spoke at the opening of the photo exhibition "Minsk Anti Zoo. Red Mark" featuring the stories of Belarusian political prisoners. This exhibition took place at the Free Belarus Museum, a NAM project.
Lukashenko once claimed, "I don't fight with women." This, like so much of what he says, is a lie.
Since August 2020, at least 8,000 women have faced political persecution in Belarus. Currently, at least 190 women are imprisoned. They are subjected to deliberately harsh conditions, deprived of parental rights or threatened with such, and their sentences are extended. That’s exactly how the regime "doesn’t fight with women."
We all must speak up about this injustice, raising the topic of political prisoners on every possible platform – international forums, actions, and meetings.
During the exhibition, former political prisoner Darya Afanasyeva, who was incarcerated for two and a half years, spoke about the clothing worn by female inmates in the colony. She displayed a dress and a prison bodysuit from the Gomel prison.
The co-creators of the "Minsk Anti Zoo. Red Mark" project, stylist Hanna Pryshyvalka, "Political Prisoner" project founder Yauheniya Douhaya, Free Theater actress Yulia Shauchuk, Raman Bandarenka's sister Volha Kucharenka, and the mother and daughter of political prisoner Antanina Kanavalava, took the stage. The political prisoners Volha Skrashchuk, Volha Rytus, and Mia Mitkevich also appeared, greeted with thunderous applause. The female vocal group "Spievy" performed during the event.
The photo exhibition at the Free Belarus Museum, located at Foksal 11 can be visited until June 9, 2024.
Comments