Anna Sharyhina

Anna Sharyhina is a Ukrainian feminist and LGBTIQ+ activist. She is the president and co-founder of the “Women's Association “Sphere” and co-founder and chair of the board of the “KyivPride”.  

She was born in 1977 in Kharkiv. In 1996, she received a junior specialist diploma with honors in the specialty of primary school teacher at the Kharkiv Humanitarian-Pedagogical Academy (then the Kharkiv Pedagogical College). In 2001, she received a specialist degree in practical psychology from the H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University. In 2013, she completed her postgraduate studies in philosophy at the Kharkiv National Aerospace University, but did not defend her thesis.  

In 2001, she began working as a specialist and later as the head of HR departments in small and medium-sized businesses, such as the consulting company Arsenal LLC, the pharmaceutical company Megapolis LLC, Zaporizhzhyaoblenergo JSC, Management Group LLC, Injurpolis law firm, Khladoprom group of companies, Mamin Dim group of companies, Karavan JSC, and others.

In 2006, she co-founded a women's initiative group in Kharkiv, which was registered as a public organization, “Women's Association “Sphere”, in 2008. In 2009, they held their first feminist action in Kharkiv. From 2008 to 2023, Anna was the program director of the “Women's Association “Sphere”; from 2023 to the present, she has been the president of the organization.

Since the beginning of her public activity, Anna Sharyhina has contributed to human rights education. She has conducted numerous lectures, discussions, and training sessions on human rights and gender equality, particularly for young people, on a pro bono basis.

In 2015, she was selected as a lecturer in the subjects of “Tolerance and non-discrimination in police work,” “Effective communication,” and “Prevention and counteraction of domestic violence” at the Police Academy as part of the reform of the National Police of Ukraine, where she worked for two academic years.

In 2016, with financial support from the “Gay Alliance Ukraine”, Anna Sharyhina organized and headed the first community center for the LGBTIQ+ community in Kharkiv, Queer Home Kharkiv. In 2016, she became the executive director of KyivPride, and in 2017, she organized the first event in Kharkiv for the International day against homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, which marked the beginning of a long journey to fight for an inclusive and friendly Kharkiv.

Anna Sharyhina is currently the leader of the Ukrainian pride movement. Even after the start of the full-scale invasion, she actively promotes human rights values for the LGBTIQ+ community and consistently advocates for the importance of visibility as a tool in the fight for equality. She also represents the Ukrainian LGBTIQ+ community at international events, promotes the visibility of Ukraine and, in particular, LGBTIQ+ military personnel at the global level, and gives presentations and reports to spread accurate information about the war in Ukraine. Education remains an important focus of her work. She organizes and conducts events on gender equality, opportunities for women, and human rights activism throughout Ukraine.