Ukrainian soldier and her bride hold symbolic wedding at KharkivPride to push for marriage equality

Photo: KharkivPride

Nina Voronets

KharkivPride will be held from August 23 to September 2. On Friday, a symbolic wedding of soldier Alina Shevchenko and human rights activist Stanislava Petlytsia took place as part of the event.

What is the problem?

Alina and Stanislava do not have the opportunity to formalize their relationship. After all, there is still no marriage equality for all married couples in Ukraine. A partial solution to the problem could be adopting draft law No. 9103 on registered (civil) partnerships.

^{Photo: KharkivPride}

This issue is critical during the war because LGBTQ+ servicemembers in a relationship can't legally formalize it and get the same rights other families have in Ukraine.

Organizers of KharkivPride emphasize that the mentioned law won't make marriage equality happen; it will allow for taking at least one step forward in sorting out the relationships of same–sex (and not only) couples.

What is the solution?

Within KharkivPride, they decided to hold a performance in the format of a "real" wedding ceremony to draw attention to the problem of the lack of marriage equality. The performance participants are a real couple, and they recently got engaged.

^{Photo: KharkivPride}

Alina Shevchenko is a military officer from the Kharkiv region, captain, brigade staff officer. She has been in military service since 2015: first, she was mobilized, and later, she signed a contract. The team knows about her sexual orientation and engagement with her partner.

^{Photo: KharkivPride}

Stanislava Petlytsia is a Kharkiv activist who is engaged in the protection of the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people; for many years, she has been a part of the Kharkiv women's association "Sfera" and is a member of the KharkivPride team.

How does it work?

The wedding ceremony began near the body of registration of acts of civil status building and Sumska Street. Here, the brides went through a traditional Ukrainian ceremony – sprinkling oats, wheat, rice, buckwheat, candies, petals, and coins and took photos with the guests. Then the brides went for a walk around the city.

Photo: KharkivPride

Throwing bouquets of the brides became an integral part, and the young people also attached a lock, which symbolized their strong relationship. And in the future, maybe an official marriage.