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Protests in Poland as proposed laws curtail women's rights
Source: The Guardian
Protests in Poland as proposed laws curtail women's rights
Alex Duval Smith in Warsaw
Wednesday 23 December 2015 12.57 GMT
Campaigners are planning to step up resistance to Poland’s ultra-conservative government after it cleared a constitutional path for hardline law changes, expected to include a total ban on abortion and curbs to gender and human rights.
Tens of thousands joined mass demonstrations in the run-up to the law change, which would curtail the independence of the constitutional tribunal – the country’s highest legislative court. But to the dismay of women’s rights activists, no protests greeted the government’s first concrete policy move – to scrap subsidies for IVF in public hospitals.
Since the Law & Justice party gained an absolute majority in parliament in October, it has not fully declared that it will ban abortion but its MPs attempted the move under the previous coalition with the centrist Civic Platform party.
The avowed feminist politician Barbara Nowacka, leader of the United Left coalition, called for defenders of the constitution to embrace women’s rights. “The defence of democracy and equality go together. Poland has taken several steps backwards in the past couple of weeks. Issues such as women’s equality and LGBT rights seem suddenly to have been cancelled as unimportant.”
Law & Justice triumphed in the elections on a mix of social and nationalistic promises: hostility to migrants, pledging to stand up to exploitative foreign investors and banks, reducing the retirement age and introducing a 500 złoty (£86) a month child grant. Crucially, the campaign had the blessing of conservative bishops.
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Alex Duval Smith in Warsaw
Wednesday 23 December 2015 12.57 GMT
Campaigners are planning to step up resistance to Poland’s ultra-conservative government after it cleared a constitutional path for hardline law changes, expected to include a total ban on abortion and curbs to gender and human rights.
Tens of thousands joined mass demonstrations in the run-up to the law change, which would curtail the independence of the constitutional tribunal – the country’s highest legislative court. But to the dismay of women’s rights activists, no protests greeted the government’s first concrete policy move – to scrap subsidies for IVF in public hospitals.
Since the Law & Justice party gained an absolute majority in parliament in October, it has not fully declared that it will ban abortion but its MPs attempted the move under the previous coalition with the centrist Civic Platform party.
The avowed feminist politician Barbara Nowacka, leader of the United Left coalition, called for defenders of the constitution to embrace women’s rights. “The defence of democracy and equality go together. Poland has taken several steps backwards in the past couple of weeks. Issues such as women’s equality and LGBT rights seem suddenly to have been cancelled as unimportant.”
Law & Justice triumphed in the elections on a mix of social and nationalistic promises: hostility to migrants, pledging to stand up to exploitative foreign investors and banks, reducing the retirement age and introducing a 500 złoty (£86) a month child grant. Crucially, the campaign had the blessing of conservative bishops.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/23/protests-in-poland-as-proposesd-laws-curtail-womens-rights