Kuzmenko Volodymyr, Kuzmenko Hanna. The genesis of the legal position of women in Ukraine-Rus from the beginning of the 10th century to the middle of the 14th century
The article is devoted to the problems of the genesis of the legal position of women in Ukraine-Rus from the beginning of the 10th century to the middle of the 14th century. Understanding of these problems is carried out from the standpoint of modern historical and legal science in the context of ensuring gender equality.
Analyzing the development of the legal status of women in Ukraine-Rus, the author substantiates the need to distinguish two historical stages, the border of which was the adoption of Christianity. The work proves that in the pre-Christian period, the legal position of a woman was determined primarily by the norms of customary law, and her legal status was determined not so much by gender characteristics, but by her place in the social structure of society. Some women freely owned and disposed of considerable wealth, property, and land, while others could be in the status of slaves and concubines, deprived of any rights. It is substantiated that with the adoption of Christianity, the legal position of women changed significantly under the influence of the norms of Byzantine canon law. The Church ensured the elimination of the phenomenon of polygamy, concubinage, and marriage based on the abduction or purchase of a woman. At the same time, the church subordinated the woman to the authority of the man, obliging men to take care of the well-being of their women.
In the work, the authors prove that unlike Western European legal systems, in which a woman was mostly perceived as an object, not a subject of legal relations, the legal status of Ukrainian women was much higher. Women in Ukraine-Rus were endowed with full civil legal capacity, and their lives, health, property, and honor were properly protected by the norms of material and procedural law, which did not foresee any restrictions based on gender.
