Volha Alyaksandrauna Harbunova is a Belarusian women's rights organiser and trainer who was appointed Representative for Social Issues in the Belarusian United Transitional Cabinet on 26 December 2022.
16 Facts About Volha Harbunova
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Volha Harbunova escaped from Belarus in 2022, prior to her nomination to the United Transitional Cabinet.
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Volha Harbunova worked for the non-governmental organization Radislava, an organisation created in 2002 by and for survivors of violence against women, for 18 years as a psychologist and as a leader of the organisation.
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Volha Harbunova trained police officials and officials from welfare and health care administrations in supporting the victims of family violence.
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Volha Harbunova introduced the One Billion Rising campaign into Belarus in 2016.
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Volha Harbunova created Norma Cafe, a social enterprise and cultural centre for providing training and employment for women.
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Volha Harbunova was detained in Okrestina on 9 November 2021 in relation to women's rights marches that took place in mid 2020.
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Volha Harbunova carried out a hunger strike in protest against her detention and conditions of detention.
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Volha Harbunova was designated by the Belarusian authorities as a prisoner "inclined to extremism and other destructive actions".
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Index on Censorship published some of Volha Harbunova's letter sent to a friend during her detention.
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Charges against Volha Harbunova were laid under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 342 and Parts 1,2 and 3 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code of Belarus.
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On 6 May 2022, Volha Harbunova was found guilty of the "organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order" under Part 1 of Article 342.
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Volha Harbunova was sentenced to three years of house arrest.
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On 26 December 2022, Volha Harbunova was appointed Representative for Social Issues in the United Transitional Cabinet, the government-in-exile claiming to be the de jure government of Belarus, based on the argument that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was the likely real winner of the 2020 Belarusian presidential election.
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In 2022, Volha Harbunova was given Front Line Defenders' Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk.
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The announcement of the award was delayed until December 2022 for security reasons, since Volha Harbunova was still in Belarus during the regular award ceremony on 27 May 2022.