FEATURED STORY
All-Poland Women’s Strike
WITH GRZEGORZ WELNICKI
All-Poland Women’s Strike
On October 22, 2020, the Polish pseudo-Constitutional Tribunal issued a ruling in which it stated that abortions performed for embryopathological reasons (severe and irreversible fetal impairment) were incompatible with the Polish Constitution. The politically-driven sentence has tightened the already extremely restrictive abortion law, condemning Polish women to an almost total lack of access to legal abortion with exceptions of rape, incest, and when the woman’s life is at risk.
The restrictions affecting women in Poland were proceeded by the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) despite the Covid-19 pandemic. The decision led to a massive outbreak of women’s protests across Poland against the ruling party, the clergy, and the Catholic Church, as well as the Catholic fundamentalists (Ordo Iuris) who initiated the restrictions of women’s rights. As the days go by, the protests are becoming stronger and stronger, spreading across the country, and many places around the world. The women united under the slogan #tojestwojna – ‘this is war’.
Here Grzegorz Wełnicki shares some images from the ongoing protests. You can support All-Poland Women’s Strike (Ogólnopolski Strajk Kobiet) here.
**The All-Poland Women’s Strike (Ogólnopolski Strajk Kobiet) which coordinates the protests and actions is a grassroot social movement established in 2016. Instead of having official management or headquarters, the All-Poland Women’s Strike is assisted by a helpdesk/support committee led by Marta Lempart and Natalia Pancewicz. More info on the movement here.
**The logo of the All-Poland Women’s Strike, consisting of a female head in profile and lightning was designed by Ola Jasionowska. The lightning itself has become a significant symbol of the protests over the last few days.
**Metal hanger refers to unsafe methods used to perform illegal abortions in the past and is the international symbol of pro-choice.
**The Police forces were deployed on an unprecedented scale to guard the house of the ruling party leader and the recently appointed vice-PM, Jaroslaw Kaczynski. His right-wing political party has been gradually reducing woman’s rights as well as minority rights since 2015.
All photographs depict the ongoing protests of the Women’s Strike in Warsaw.
Photos: Grzegorz Wełnicki (@welnicki)
Text: Małgorzata Białobrzycka (@gosia_bialobrzycka)
Special thanks: Aleksandra Szymczyk (@aleks_szy)
