Ukrainian Women's Resilience and Resistance through the Lens of Feminist Trauma Theology

This article looks at the suffering and agency of Ukrainian women in the Russian-Ukrainian war through the lens of feminist trauma-sensitive theology. The methodology is inspired by trauma-sensitive theologian Karen O’Donnell. Her original approach of attending to “the voices of the Marys” as women whose stories are layered in trauma experiences (O’Donnell, 2020) is used as a heuristic key to explore and elucidate the narrated experiences of Ukrainian women. The chapter is divided in three parts. In the first part, the author describes how the resilience and resistance of Ukrainian women in this war needs to be understood from a history of collective, transgenerational trauma and resistance that has shaped their moral and spiritual agency. Secondly, it is illustrated how Ukrainian (female) artists in their contemporary war art powerfully translate iconographic prototypes of Mary, the Mother of God, into the socio-ethical, political context, responding to the wounds of war. Finally, adding to the visual representations and sometimes intertwined with them, women’s narratives of war are listened to. Some case studies are presented that bring (post)traumatic experiences, narrated by the living voices of Ukrainian women, in creative dialogue with the stories of the four Marys in the NT. It results in the end in some suggestions on how feminist trauma theology can be further developed from women’s experiences in and reflections on the ongoing war in Ukraine.