ADVERTISEMENT

Women Strike in Poland as Tensions Over Abortion Escalate

Women Strike in Poland as Tensions Over Abortion Escalate

Polish women went on strike and tens of thousands took to the streets to protest a nearly complete ban on abortion, as a mass movement standoff against a government seeking to reimpose Catholic values extended into a seventh day.

The strike comes after Poland’s most-powerful politician, ruling-party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, called pro-choice protesters “nihilists” and pledged to defend churches from the demonstrations. Last week, the country’s highest court said that abortions were illegal in cases when the fetus doesn’t stand a chance to live outside the womb, ruling on a case brought forward by Kaczynski’s allies.

Further curbs to what already was one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws set off a wave of angry protests. During five years of Kaczynski’s rule, Poland has turned its back on the European Union’s multicultural values, vilified the LGBT+ community while giving the Catholic church more sway over everyday life.

While it’s difficult to estimate how many women went on strike on Wednesday, some schools and businesses shut and about 200 protests took place across the country.

“Shaken, depressed and angry by the decision that strips citizens of dignity and security, I join the strike,” Dorota Fiett, a principal of the Bednarska Szkola Realna, a high school in Warsaw, said on Facebook. Dentons, the biggest international law firm in Poland, declared its “understanding for employees that decided to support the protest.”

‘Women’s Hell’

The government is battling back against the protesters, who meet daily in defiance of increasingly strict lockdown rules. Kaczynski said the demonstrations pose a civilizational threat for Poland after activists disrupted religious services last weekend, with police detaining 76 people for “targeting religious sanctuaries.”

“I urge all members of Law & Justice and those that support us to take part in defending churches,” Kaczynski, who’s also a deputy prime minister, said Tuesday. “This attack is aimed at destroying Poland and ending the history of the Polish nation as we perceive it.”

With far-right groups organizing to protect churches, safety concerns are growing as women seek to hold a big march in Warsaw on Friday.

“Radicalism creates radicalism, and the call by Kaczynski to defend churches is in essence consent for unrest,” said Anna Materska-Sosnowska, a political scientist at Warsaw University. “We can expect an escalation of protests by young people and women, which is very dangerous.”

In parliament on Wednesday, Kaczynski called the opposition “criminals” and blamed them for stoking unrest and encouraging protests amid the pandemic. About 20,000 people gathered in Lodz, central Poland, and about half of that in Warsaw, holding signs ranging from “Women’s Hell” to “Fight Covid, Not Women” and “This Is War.”

‘Political Ploy’

The Nationwide Women Strike, the group loosely coordinating the mostly grassroots protests, vowed to continue demonstrating until the government resigns. The group is seeking legalization of abortion and sex education, a secular state, judicial independence and more funding for health care and businesses hit by the pandemic.

The unrest comes as coronavirus infections and deaths spiraled to record highs on Wednesday, overwhelming hospitals and increasing the risk of another large-scale lockdown that could further undercut the popularity of Law & Justice. Poland’s currency, the zloty, tumbled to its weakest level against the euro in a decade.

“The government may be using this emotional issue as a political ploy to deflect attention away from the increasingly worrying Covid pandemic,” said Piotr Matys, an emerging-market strategist at Rabobank in London. “Over the longer term, conflicts between the government and large swathes of society can impact how foreign investors view Poland.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.