Belarus continues to fight for gender equality on paper, but the results are just as… comical. Perhaps the secret is that officialdom does not fully understand what gender equality actually means.

14.06.2026

Because how else can one explain that they write almost in the same breath about gender equality, strengthening the institution of marriage, and family values? In reality, the institution of marriage has weakened precisely because the gender gap has narrowed – women have gained more rights and opportunities, and marriage is increasingly entered into not out of necessity but by choice. And, naturally, it turns out that not everyone has such a desire.

Moreover, people no longer stay in unhappy marriages as often as before, for the same reason – women can afford to leave; they are no longer as strongly and hopelessly financially dependent on their husbands as they once were.

Of course, there must be a million caveats here – that things are different in different situations, that long maternity leaves and institutional sexism still severely limit women and place them (us) in an objectively weaker position in the labor market. All of this is true and all of it matters. But the overall trend favours women and does not favour so-called family values.

Therefore, it is quite strange to see these values listed alongside gender equality as goals. However, there is another explanation for this phenomenon, besides the intellectual limitations of legislators. It could be a fully calculated game aimed at international rankings – a game at which the Belarusian authorities are professionals. The point about equality can easily be written for external observers, while the point about family values is written for themselves.

Authorities are indeed skilled at playing with statistics. Despite the existence of a list of professions banned for women, higher entrance exam scores for girls applying to certain professions, the absence of a specialised law on combating domestic violence, systematic torture in places of detention, and the presence of female political prisoners, including mothers of many children, Belarus ranks 27th out of 172 countries in the Gender Inequality Index. The higher a country’s position in this ranking, the supposedly closer it is to achieving gender equality.

And such a high ranking is achieved thanks, in part, to formalities – the existence of a ‘gender policy’ and even an entire Council for Gender Policy, and the stated goal of eliminating legal and actual inequality between men and women. That something contradictory is written right next to it can simply be ignored.

This resembles preparing for centralised testing after school or a language exam that many must take in emigration. To pass successfully, you don’t need to know everything – you need to know how to take the test. There are even special tutors who prepare students for specific exams. The same applies here: you don’t need to achieve gender equality; you need to meet specific formal requirements to look good in the eyes of the international community.

Create another body, sign another policy and two more agreements. Expand the Council’s powers, enshrine a few more concepts in legislation. It is not necessary to give boys and girls the same university admission requirements, nor is it necessary to abandon the list of professions banned for women.

Officialdom always knows better what women want and what we need for equal rights and opportunities with men. Our task is to listen and humbly accept.

Source: https://en.belsat.eu/93800824/how-belarus-manipulates-gender-statistics-to-look-good-internationally