Are Belarusians ready to vote for a woman?
Elections in Belarus / БелТА
Are Belarusians No Longer Believing in the Idea of a Female President? At least, that is the impression one might get from the latest Chatham House poll. In it, the number of Belarusians ready to vote for a woman in the presidential election has slightly decreased.
Gender researcher Iryna Sidorskaya points out that these data indicate a change in the context and circumstances in which Belarusians have found themselves in recent years:
It is not that Belarusians have become stupider or more conservative in the last two years (this contradicts common sense). People give answers that they think are correct.
Lukashenka said back in 2020 that "society is not ready to vote for a woman" and "our constitution is not for a woman", "and she [the woman], poor thing, won't cope" - this is the thesis that was voiced from the main podium.
Of course, the majority of Belarusians did not agree. But the price of disagreeing with Lukashenka has risen considerably during these four years, and even during the two years from 2022 to 2024. People simply do not want to say what is not approved at the state level. When the state is present both in schools and in work collectives - everywhere - it is not quite comme il faut to say in your answer "No, I do not agree with the head of state".
