Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun, 38, recently tabled a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. In interview at 24 hoursShe explains in particular how this advancement could benefit soldiers on the front line.
Ukraine has just taken a first step towards legalizing marriage for all. Last week, MP Inna Sovsun tabled a bill in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, paving the way for the legalization of same-sex marriage.
A professor of political science, Sovsun was the youngest deputy minister in her country’s history in 2014, at the age of 29. Member of the Holos opposition party (center-right, pro-European) and elected to the Rada since 2019, she campaigns for the official recognition of homosexual relations.
24 hours spoke with her.
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Why did you decide to introduce a bill allowing same-sex marriage?
I think a politician’s job is to make sure people are happy. How? How? With who? In what kind of relationships? They are happy, it’s up to them.
Today there is discrimination against people who have same-sex relationships because we do not officially recognize their relationship. This is a problem that has been going on for a very long time.
How could the context of the war favor the adoption of this bill?
There are people from the LGBT community who serve in the military. The latter are very worried that the government will not recognize their relationship, which has very practical implications.
First of all, if they are injured, they want to be sure that their partner can make medical decisions for them, if ever they are unconscious, for example. When two people are married, the spouse makes the decision.
But for same-sex couples, is it impossible?
Generally, parents make these decisions. But parents have different levels of understanding of relationships. Some parents would say, “Okay, we’ll consult the partner anyway,” but other parents are actually in denial.
If people are killed in action, they want to be sure that their partner is able to make decisions about burial, succession, etc. There is also the fact that the partner of those killed in action receives certain social benefits. It is unfair that people in same-sex relationships cannot benefit from it.
It’s really about making sure people aren’t discriminated against based on who they love. It is very simple.
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In your opinion, is the Ukrainian population ready to accept same-sex unions?
The most recent sociological studies show that 56% of Ukrainians are in favor of unions between people of the same sex. It’s a very positive number. In fact, it has never been higher than it is today.
One of the reasons is the presence of LGBT people in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The high level of respect and trust that our military inspires among the population somehow transcends the LGBT military.
It’s actually a very good thing that many gay people who serve in the military have come out. There is also an organization of LGBT soldiers, they are active on Facebook, they tell their story. Serving in the military thrust them into the limelight, so to speak. They have become visible to society.
When I discuss it with my colleagues from the Rada (the equivalent of the National Assembly, editor’s note), even the most conservative ones, each time I tell them that it is soldiers who are asking for their union to be made official, so it’s like we can’t say no to the military in the situation we find ourselves in today…
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Is this also a way to oppose Putin?
Putin is extremely homophobic. For the Russian state, homophobia is an integral part of the national ideology. More and more people realize this and think that if we are different from Russia, then we shouldn’t be homophobic.
For some people, the argument of equality in human rights does not work. But the argument “OK, Putin is homophobic, do you really want to be like Putin?” This is something that works too!
This issue seems give Ukraine the opportunity to affirm certain values…
We are Ukrainians, we are different from Russians. In what ? We are different because freedom, human rights, democracy, these are things that matter to us. Are we a perfect democracy? No not at all. But these values are part of our DNA, our identity.
And I think if you recognize that, you can’t continue to deny rights to people who are different from you.
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In your opinion, is the context conducive to major social progress in Ukraine?
Now it’s not 50 shades of gray anymore. It’s black or white, and you just have to choose. For example, if we choose white, it is as if there is only one road left. And you can’t choose from different shades. I’m sorry for the weird analogy (laughs).
People say to themselves, “we are targeted by Russia, we don’t want to be like Russia, we hate Russia”. This is the general feeling of 98% of the population. There is therefore a geopolitical choice to be made. This choice is Europe. And Europe is about respect for human dignity, respect for human rights, and so on.