On June 23, 2023, a new holiday appeared in the amendments to the Law on Memorial Days of the Republic of Lithuania: February 17 - National Emancipation Day. The goal of this day is to remind about the importance of freedom from oppression and to promote the vision and development practices of Lithuanian society based on the principles of equality.
Informally it has been celebrated on this day since 2016, when a conference “Discourses of Emancipation in Independent Lithuania“ was organised. This event was initiated in order to give a different perspective and gathered women speakers because of a common practice of all-male panels in expert or academic discussions about the future of Lithuania.
February 17 is a historic date, as on this day in 1918 the first protest took place in independent Lithuania which had declared its freedom from the Russian empire a day before. The reason for the protest was that among the signatories there were no women, even though they have actively participated in the national movement and promoted the future Lithuania state which would respect equal rights. The provisional constitution of the Republic of Lithuania which was drafted in November 1918 ensured equal rights of the citizens of any gender, nationality, religion and class, including universal suffrage. Lithuania was one of the first countries to ensure the right for women to vote and to be elected. In 1920 at the first session of the Constituent Parliament, 59-year-old woman Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė became the chairperson (this position was held by the oldest member of the Parliament), and 24-year-old woman Ona Račiukaitienė (Muraškaitė) became the secretary (this position was held by the youngest member of the Seimas). In the 1926 Presidential elections, two women were candidates for the post of President: Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė and Felicija Bortkevičienė.
National Emancipation Day is a feminist project that recognises the role of gender in society, all together with other aspects, such as social status, ethnicity, class, age, sexuality and others. The initiators of National Emancipation Day believe that it is necessary to constantly reflect and rethink state and political projects. Even after having independence and universal suffrage we still need to talk about a different kind of emancipation, which takes care about more things than only the survival and security of the political community. This day encourages discussions about Lithuania and its political project: does it promote equality and justice? Is it open and diverse? Does it ensure human rights? And, finally, why are there still so many obstacles that refrain people from living with dignity?
The symbol of National Emancipation Day is Vytė – a woman riding a horse. The author of this artwork is artist Eglė Tamulytė (known as Shaltmira or Aglaja Ray). She created this interpretation of the Lithuanian coat of arms in 2014, and this artwork caused waves of both resentment and admiration, and raised disputes how artists can or can’t play with state symbols, ironise, joke and appropriate them. The rider wears a punk mohawk - a sign of those who look, dress and think differently, and the hair marks on her legs remind us of the standards of beauty. Such an image, which speaks of courage, rebellion, criticism, and audacity, seemed to be a suitable symbol to start moving away from the overly romanticised image of Lithuania's statehood.
Picture: Johan Braakensiek (Europeana)
