Women in a Human Rights Media Discourse During the Armed Conflict in the East of Ukraine

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the representation of women in human rights media discourse during the armed conflict in the east of Ukraine in 2014–2019. Thus, critical discourse analysis was conducted using monitoring methods, qualitative content analysis, comparison, analysis, synthesis and generalization. For the first time, methodological innovation was introduced by combination of critical discourse analysis with agenda-setting theory through application of an integrative approach to the research. Within media texts analysis, the discourse practice of using genres, interdiscursivity and intertextuality was identified. The existing social practice in Ukraine was studied which included women’s defence of their rights to serve in various army units; at the same time, one could observe a struggle between political discourse and the ideology of paternalism as well as between human rights protection discourse and ideology of feminism. An analysis of social practice was also conducted, and for the first time, a methodological innovation was implemented by combining critical discourse analysis with agenda-setting theory using an integrative approach in the research. In particular, it was found that due to the media discourse reproduction of social inequality, members of the public competed for their agenda with politicians. It was found that in case of women’s struggle for their rights in the army during the armed conflict, there was a conflict between human rights discourse of feminism ideology and political discourse of paternalism ideology. This study shows that in the studied conflict’s discriminatory situation, women succeded in defending their rights to serve in the army during the armed conflict in the eastern Ukraine, and, accordingly, human rights discourse succeded in the media space.