July 22, 2019 - Kyiv. Swedish photographer Johan Bävman's exhibition "Swedish Dads" (#SwedishDads) opens at Boryspil Airport (Terminal D). The photo exhibition depicts 25 Swedish families where fathers spent more than 6 months on maternity leave.
The exhibition is organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine and the Swedish Institute.
The first Deputy Director General of the airport Yevheniy Dykhne noted that this exhibition is fitting Boryspil well: “The airport, as a cultural and family space, always strives to interest and surprise passengers. Through topics, formats, content. I am sure this project is going to attract everyone's attention".
A series of 25 portraits of men with children aims to draw attention to the problems of modern parenthood.
In Ukraine, 7 out of 10 men* are convinced that the key role of a woman is household chores and cooking. 63% of Ukrainian men* believe that caring for young children is the responsibility of the mother alone. At the same time, the experience of countries such as Sweden shows that active involvement of the father in the child care from birth has a positive impact on the child's development and parental relationships. Johan Bävman's warm family photographs show the experiences of Swedish families where fathers are equally caring for children. In Ukraine, however, 27% of men took vacations or leaves when their baby was born, and in most cases the duration of such leave did not exceed 2 weeks*.
“A childcare leave is not a very popular phenomenon among Ukrainian fathers. And such an archaic distribution of family responsibilities widely supported by Ukrainian men is a matter of concern. However, it should be noted that younger men are more likely to distribute household duties evenly. Equal involvement of mom and dad in raising a child lays the groundwork for its further development. The sooner daddies start caring for the baby, the more they tend to invest in the baby for the rest of their lives. Also, when dads take maternity leave, moms have more time for their own health, are less prone to depression and have more opportunities for professional development”, said UNFPA Ukraine Program Analyst Nataliya Koshovska.
The exhibition will be placed in the departure area of Terminal D of Boryspil International Airport until September 13, 2019.
More information: Alyona Zubchenko, 096-506-55-88, zubchenko@unfpa.org
Additional info:
*All data are taken from UNFPA Ukraine study “Masculinity Today”, 2018.
The UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is a leading UN agency focusing on gender equality, reproductive health and capacity building for young people. We work with partners in 150 countries and territories around the world, and since 1997 we operate in Ukraine to promote equality, overcome gender stereotypes, enhance women's opportunities, support equal distribution of household chores, and involve men in raising children. Since 2015, together with the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, the campaign "4 Hands Happiness" has been launched. More information about UNFPA and our work in Ukraine: www.ukraine.unfpa.org. Follow UNFPA's Twitter and Facebook activities.
