Portraits, 2nd Prize
Between Right and Shame
Tatsiana Tkachova
05 May, 2018
Alexandra (35) first had an abortion when she was 23 and living abroad, after her older boss had forced her into a sexual relationship. She says she felt relieved afterwards. Alexandra again chose to have a termination some years later, when she was married and expecting a second child. As a nursing mother at the time, she was not allowed a pill-induced abortion but had to delay and have a clinical procedure. Proceeding with a pregnancy she knew she was going to end upset her deeply.
Belarus abortion laws allow termination on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, and in certain medical or social circumstances up to 28 weeks, which places them among the most liberal in Europe. Nevertheless, abortion is still a taboo for many women, and many are reluctant to admit they have had a termination. ‘No abortion week’ campaigns are held annually, and the decision to have a termination is often accompanied by a sense of shame. In this project, Belarusian women who have considered or undergone abortion tell their stories. The women had a range of concerns behind their decisions surrounding abortion—from contamination after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to fear of poverty, not wanting to be a single parent, or a background of sexual abuse. As their decisions were often made with difficulty, in this story they did not want to show their faces and their names have been changed.
Tatsiana Tkachova
Tatsiana Tkachova is a photographer based in Minsk, Belarus. Tkachova graduated from the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts with a Culturology Degree in 2014, and...
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