In her 8th of March address, Lizaveta Merliak, a leader of Salidarnast, stressed the importance of interaction and support among women in the struggle against violence in Belarus.
Greetings, Sisters,
I congratulate you on the International Day of Women’s struggle for equal rights.
We stand on the shoulders of remarkable women without whose toil and self-sacrifice equality could not exist even on the level we observe in the world today. And today none of us can give up their efforts to improve their situation for the world is still full of injustice, inequality, and violence.
Violence is the foundation on which dictatorships are built and Belarus is no exception: it is about a “firm” hand, police and security forces, punitive troops, a pre-war situation, arbitrary arrests, coercion, intimidation at the workplace. Violence poisons relationships in society at all levels.
And women face violence everywhere, at home, at work, in the streets.
Any aggression is a form of fear, the patriarchal regime’s fear of losing power and control, also over women.
I call upon us to support each other at the workplace, in our neighbourhoods, in our families.
And this patriarchy will crumble.
She believes that unity among women is the key to changing the patriarchal system and achieving equality. Solidarity among us will help us break the vicious circle of violence and build a more equitable society.