Is There Anything Left to Fight for? Considering the Position of Women in Poland

By Małgorzata Darmas, HIA Fellow

Are women’s rights activists still needed in today’s society? One could say that the era of the feminists has ended, as women are free and equal, and everyone has a right to vote. There are some in Poland who say there is nothing left to fight for, and that women’s rights activism is only for some frustrated, old-fashioned feminists. However, our discussion on June 10^th showed that there are still important issues in women’s rights to talk about.

Karolina Kędziora speaks with HIA Fellows
Photo by Benjamin Overton

For our first meeting of the day, we met with Karolina Kędziora, a lawyer from the Polish Society for Anti-Discrimination Law, who guided us smoothly through the complexity of the legal frameworks and the execution of anti-discrimination law in Poland. We traveled back to the communist era when, due to economic conditions and the communist agenda, women were professionally active and the law was generally more egalitarian. When the change of systems came, women were somehow “lost in transformation.” This happened in part with the great influence of religion that grew in power and promoted the idea of a traditional family where a woman is, first of all, a housewife and a mother. However, as Ms. Kędziora quoted, democracy without women is only half democracy, so women had to take matters into their own hands and again fight for their position in the world.

There are some crucial issues that women still have to tackle in Poland, such as: inequality in the labor market; limited access to the highest positions in the workplace; discrimination in public benefits; obstacles in exercising their reproductive rights; and finally, victimization from domestic violence. Many areas of women’s lives have been appropriated by the public sphere and many politicians recognize the right to make decisions for women. Therefore, I agree with our speakers in the idea that women have to act and again speak up for their rights. Fighting for women’s rights is about gender equality, about empowering women, and about the freedom of choice. Most of all, it is about bringing the situation of women in Poland to people’s attention.

Dr. Patrycja Dołowy and Elżbieta Korolczuk speak with HIA Fellows at MaMa Cafe
Photo by Sarah Deal

The role of organizations that take care of women’s rights in Poland is crucial. There are quite a few such NGOs, among which is the MaMa Foundation, that was introduced to us today by Dr. Patrycja Dołowy. The organization is dealing with the strong stereotype of the “Polish Mother”: a mother that is ideal, invincible and never complains about the hardship that she endures. The foundation is also trying to fight against the discrimination mothers face in public life, the job market, and in society and culture. Another example of an influential group of activists is the March 8 Women Alliance, introduced to us by Dr. Elżbieta Korolczuk. This group is also fighting to bring increased attention to women’s rights in Poland. Among the various tools they use are social campaigns, billboards, happenings, open debates, manifestations. Sometimes the actions they take are not very “proper” (they may even perhaps be disruptive), but by being “nice” and “proper,” they wouldn’t be as effective.

There are many other organizations working on women’s rights in Poland, and during our very productive fellows discussion, I was wondering whether their work is needed as well as what solutions actually make the situation of polish women better. Personally, I think women’s rights are not only a Polish issue. It is so astonishing to me why women still have to fight for equality. Women’s rights were recognized as human rights internationally some time ago. Still, women still face many issues in Poland and abroad. In the fellows discussion, we all agreed that, first of all, society’s awareness has to be raised - not only do women need to be more aware of these issues, but also men need to have more awareness of women’s rights issues. The campaigns need to be continued and manifestations still conducted until these tactics are no longer shocking, but will become an accepted part of reality.

There is still much to do about the position of women in Poland. There is still much to fight for. But the rights of women are worth it.