The IB Global Politics class recently had the honor of listening to a guest speaker, Ania, from the Polish women's rights group Strajk Kobiet.
Early this year, I had heard of Poland's ongoing struggles with LGBTQIA+ rights, ergo, their proclamation of being free from "LGBT ideology" and their criminalization of same-sex marriage, adoption and civil unions. However, I had yet to hear of their recent abortion bill that has incited outrage amongst women and humanitarians within the country and internationally.
The Issue
On the 22nd of October, the Constitutional Tribunal—Poland’s judicial constitutional court—ruled that abortion due to fetal abnormality was unconstitutional. Any decision made by the Tribunal cannot be appealed, so there's no changing the ruling unless they were to go back on the initial assessment.
To demonstrate the gravity of this decision, Ania explained that around 97% of all Polish abortions fall under this circumstance, and as a result, the Tribunal has essentially rendered abortions illegal. The New York Times cites 1074 out of the 1100 abortions performed in Poland last year were under the circumstance of fetal abnormality. This would equal to around 97.6% of abortions. The issue is further complicated when taking into consideration the vast amount of Polish women who travel abroad to get abortions for reasons outside of those legal within Poland, while many others go through the process within borders, illegally. Moreover, Polish women cannot count on the law to completely assure their abortion, even if it is under legal conditions. The theocratic state is rife with doctors who refuse to perform abortions on religious grounds.
In addition to the blatant infringement upon women’s rights, foul play is suspected by protestors. It’s not the first time the Polish government has had talks on the lawfulness of abortion, and it’s definitely not the first time it has attempted to make abortion laws even more strict. Despite this, they lack the parliamentary votes necessary to pass whatever restrictions they've proposed and public backlash makes it clear that most Polish nationals aren't on board, either.
So, instead of going in circles with Parliament, they've asked the Constitutional Tribunal to rule part of the law unconstitutional, well aware of its irreversible nature. Ania noted the decline of the government's reputation has gained momentum as a result, having begun with the unlawful appointment of fourteen out of fifteen Constitutional Tribunal members.
Strajk Kobiet
Strajk Kobiet—also known as the All-Poland Women’s Strike—is not a new movement. Having been established in 2017, Strajk Kobiet was a part of the organizers for the Black Protests of 2016 even before they were a fully-realized group. The Black Protests fought against the September Sejm debate to ban abortion and eventually succeeded in October when lawmakers voted the bill down. The legacy of the protests shows itself in the 2017 launch of the International Women’s Strike, a joint movement between Strajk Kobiet and several Argentinian women’s rights activists. The International Women’s Strike includes women from 28 countries worldwide.
But now that the debate has been rekindled by the Tribunal's decision, Strajk Kobiet has made a comeback stronger than ever. According to the New York Times, the 2020 protests led by Strajk Kobiet are “the largest demonstrations in Poland since the fall of communism in 1989”. Protests have reached up to 430,000 people spanning across over 400 Polish communities and have involved more youths than any other movement ever before.
As of late, Strajk Kobiet has released a statement of their demands on behalf of Polish citizens. They wish for full women’s rights consisting of legal abortion on demand, free contraception, and normalized sex education. In terms of governmental changes, the movement calls for a new and independent Constitutional Tribunal as well as a neutral and independent Supreme Court free of influence from any political party.
In the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Ania says that not even the current COVID regulations are enough to keep the movement from dying down or even going fully online. Protestors suspect the government alters its COVID mandates according to the development of the movement in hopes to quash civil unrest with lockdowns and social distancing. Strajk Kobiet has adapted to regulations by organizing “walks” that attempt to stay within the maximum number of people with a group allowed in public, despite their tendency to fail upon police intervention. Police intervention—which results in brutality more often than not—is yet another tactic protestors believe is being used by the government to silence dissenters. Like many Polish dissidents, Ania carries tear gas with her for protection, alongside other makeshift weapons.
Strajk Kobiet is not a violent movement, though. She makes sure to make this clear. Polish officials often send in police forces without reason—when protests were still legal under COVID regulations, at least. COVID regulations allow the police the pretext to disrupt the protests, violence often being the result of such. Ania describes one of the most common tactics employed by the police: kettling. Police herd protestors by surrounding them or closing them in with blockades, then take advantage of the close proximity to beat protestors with batons.
Fear tactics are also prevalent. Outside of protests, those who share information regarding protests are tracked down by officials and threatened with arrest. Here’s a comprehensive article on police violence within Polish protests to learn more.
What Strajk Kobiet Hopes for the Future of Advocacy in Poland
What I took away with the most pride from Ania’s talk was her delight that Polish youths have begun to rise alongside her own generation. She describes the youth to have been much less knowledgeable about socio-political issues within their country in the years before 2020, creating a culture of abstention within younger voters, as a result. While she harbours no negative sentiments towards the younger generation, Ania believes part of the reason why their current government was able to come to power was due to massive rates of abstention. She hopes current tensions present in Poland will bring to light the importance of civic engagement and youth involvement in politics to future generations. This would be the key to avoiding a repetition of the turmoil going on in Poland since 2015. The newly discovered passion for advocacy by Polish youths has skyrocketed the hopes of older protestors and movements. Drastic changes in their country finally seem viable after a long fight.
The Outcomes of Strajk Kobiet’s Actions
Since the beginning of the protests, the Polish government announced there to be a “delay” in the release of the official bill that was supposed to take place November 2nd. While it demonstrates the effects protests have had on the government’s decision, constitutional experts find this to have been a grave mistake and a great sign of unprofessionalism as Polish law requires all rulings by the Tribunal to be published without any delay.
The delay seems to be a repetition of government actions taken in 2017 upon the abortion ban bill. While this may imply that the bill will not pass this year either, the law regarding the irreversibility of a Tribunal ruling challenges this greatly.
If you wish to learn more about Strajk Kobiet and their event dates, please visit their official website. While it is currently available only in Polish, it is possible to translate the full site online.
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