Snigurivka (Ukraine) (AFP) – Deminer Tetiana Shpak crouches down in a once tranquil poppy-strewn field near the southern Ukrainian city of Snigurivka, now littered with Russian mines. Just a few years ago, this scene would have been impossible — until 2018, women were banned from becoming deminers, a profession long considered too dangerous for them. But the Russian invasion in February 2022 changed that. More women like her are joining mine-clearance teams, where they now account for 30 percent of personnel, according to official data.
