Belarusians Responded To Lukashenko's Remarks On Demographics

A heated discussion on social media.

Lukashenko demanded that the government “revitalize demographic trends.” On August 11, he expressed dissatisfaction that women in Belarus aren’t having enough children.

Belarusian women responded to the dictator’s remarks. The discussion was sparked by a post on Threads by a user with the nickname arvash: “Everyone is discussing the birth rate and the size of benefits in Belarus, but for some reason no one has suggested excluding stay-at-home moms from the list of freeloaders? How is a woman supposed to give birth to at least three children, run the household, raise her children, and still work?”

The post sparked a wide response—other Belarusian women began sharing their own experiences. One user recounted that after her second maternity leave, when her children were 3 and 5 years old, she was summoned to appear before a commission to prove that she was a “freeloader” because, at that time, she had not returned to work and was caring for her children. According to her, a friend in a similar situation was intimidated so much that she ended up taking a job in delivery.

“A very ‘pleasant’ attitude toward women who have given birth and are raising children. They even want women to skip sick leave and work 12-hour shifts!!! And no one cares that most grandparents are working, and there’s no one to look after the children,” she wrote.

Another Belarusian woman writes that the lists of “freeloaders” should be abolished altogether, since work is a right, not an obligation: if a husband is able to support his wife, the state has no reason to demand additional payments for it. Separately, she proposed introducing a bill that would require men to bear equal responsibility for all their children from all partners—current, former, and everyone else.

Another user agreed that the current system is humiliating for mothers: “It’s humiliating for a woman with children to have to go to commissions, bring in certificates, and write explanations about why she can’t work. Why is it considered a crime here to not work and take care of your child, to be able to take them to classes and activities not in the evening but during the day? Why should a family have to spend money on higher utility bills just to pay for a woman’s right to raise her children, even if it’s just one?”

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