Women in Ukraine have equal constitutional rights as men in the economic, political, cultural, and social fields, as well as in the family.

[5] The history of Ukraine during the past two centuries is closely connected to that of the Russian Empire and later on the Soviet Union.

Ukraine gained independence in 1991 and is now a state with more than 40 million inhabitants, most of whom are Christian Orthodox, and 70% of the population is urban.

[9] As of 2010[update], there are several women's rights groups active in Ukraine,[11][12][13] including Feminist Ofenzyva[14] and Ukrainian Woman's Union.

[16][17][18] During the war in Donbas that started in 2014, a "huge volunteer movement of women organizing humanitarian action and community dialogue" developed, according to Oksana Potapova, a feminist and peacebuilding researcher and activist who created Theatre for Dialogue, a non-governmental organization in support of the women's volunteer movement.

[19] Around 45 percent of Ukraine's population (45 million) suffer violence – physical, sexual, or mental – and most of them are women.

Few women held top managerial positions in the government or in state- owned or private industry.

[33][37] An Ukrayinska Pravda research published on 12 November 2014 revealed that globally on average 22% of parliament consists of women, while in European Union countries this figure is 25%.

[38] According to a study (published on 1 November 2014) by Inter-Parliamentary Union Ukraine is ranked 112th among 189 countries in terms of political representation of women in parliament.

[33][34] Hanna Hopko was first on the party list of Self Reliance, which finished third in the October 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election.

[53][54] During the presidential election of 2010, then candidate Viktor Yanukovych refused to debate his female opponent prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and justified it by saying that "a woman's place is in the kitchen".

[57] A bill banning abortion (written by Andriy Shkil) was registered in the Verkhovna Rada at the request of the clergy of the Greek Catholic Church and the Vatican on 12 March 2012.

[58] Women in Ukraine are allowed to join the military,[59] but historically this has been limited to non-combatant roles: medic, cook, accountant, etc.

[61] Ukrainian women who are pregnant and postpartum face unique challenges, like giving birth in shelters.