On May 17, the lecture «Through space and time: women on the way to higher education» was held in the Scientific and Technical Library, Lviv Polytechnic National University. Iryna Shalata-Barna, a lecturer and researcher of the historical group of Lviv Polytechnic, not only talked about the path to university education that women took until the beginning of the 20th century, but also immersed the audience in gender discussions and the history of the feminist movement.
The lecturer focused on the key aspects of the feminist movement in Ukraine, emphasizing the significant contribution to its development by Ivan Franko and Mykola Hankevych, who were involved in this movement. Special attention was paid to the comparative analysis of feminism in the East and West of Ukraine, which gave the listeners opportunity to explore the evolution of this movement under different forms of government.
Iryna Shalata-Barna emphasized that before the era of the Russian Empire in Ukraine, the situation with women’s rights was much better than in many other countries of that time. The lecturer spoke about historical milestones, in particular the opening of the first school for girls in Ukraine and the world, as well as the first institutes for noble girls. She also mentioned literary works which described the situation with women’s rights and feminism in Ukraine, which gave listeners the opportunity to better understand the context and views of the society at that time. The researcher told how women gradually made their way to various professions, starting with the first teachers. Iryna Shalata-Barna described in detail how, for the first time in the history of Lviv Polytechnic, girls got the opportunity to get higher education, overcoming numerous obstacles and prejudices.
The lecture attracted a large number of participants – both women and men of different ages, because the topic of women’s education and equality is always relevant and important.
Entrance to the event was free.
Those present could enjoy Stary Lviv coffee and BISCOTTI.
