Today, it is impossible to speak about women’s rights in Ukraine outside the context of war.

Women have taken on a huge share of the humanitarian response: they support families, help communities withstand the impact of war, and continue to fight for their own rights, development, dignity, and a just future for all.

This was the focus of the forum Implementing Women’s Rights During Martial Law and Post-War Recovery, held in Kyiv on 15 May. The President of Voice of Romni, Anzhelika Bielova, was invited to the event to share the experience of our organization.

During the panel discussion, Anzhelika raised the issue of ensuring women’s rights in the socio-economic sphere and employment. Voice of Romni conducts professional courses for Roma women and internally displaced women, where they acquire practical skills for professions that can be learned quickly and allow them to start working almost immediately. We have also provided business grants to women from vulnerable groups to help them launch their own businesses. In addition, our team has opened three social beauty coworking spaces in Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Kryvyi Rih, where graduates of our courses began working in the beauty industry and gained a stable income.

In 2026, we also launched the social enterprise “Romnia Clean Service” in Uzhhorod and began professional training for cleaners, helping women from vulnerable groups gain quality knowledge for future official employment. Step by step, we help them achieve financial independence and improve the well-being of their families and communities as a whole.

Anzhelika also spoke about the women we support and accompany on their path to leadership, while providing comprehensive assistance. She shared the stories of those who are now at the forefront of humanitarian response: supporting people affected by the war, organizing assistance in communities, taking responsibility, and gradually becoming agents of change in their own communities.

Such forums are especially valuable for us, as they provide an opportunity to share our experience of working with Roma communities during the war in Ukraine. Their voices must be heard at the national level and taken into account in the recovery processes of our country.

We are grateful to the organizers of the event — the National Network Women’s Consortium of Ukraine, the Public Expert Council on Gender Issues under the Equal Opportunities Inter-Factional Caucus in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and our partners OXFAM — for involving representatives of different ethnic groups in important discussions, highlighting the importance of women’s leadership, and helping make the voices of Roma women heard.