The WIDE+ Feminist network, bringing together many feminists activists, scholars, women’s rights and development organisations in Europe in partnerships with feminists elsewhere, stands in solidarity with women’s rights protesters in Poland.
Today, 28 November 5 weeks after the first ‘women’s strike’ against the verdict of Constitutional Court, women, men and gender non-conforming persons, young and old, migrants and non-migrants take to the streets again in Poland to protect the right of each women to decide of their own body, in order to push back against the attempts to almost completely criminalize abortion. This is a manifestation of immense power and determination, which we share. Our hearts and minds also go to the courageous women in Belarus who are fighting peacefully for democracy.
As feminists in different localities across Europe, we call on all people in Europe express their solidarity in any way they can. Together we stand strong. For example , past Thursday the European Parliament adopted a resolution that condemns the “the facto ban on the right to abortion in Poland”.
The attack on the right and access to abortion is in itself an inexcusable action. What is equally worse, the ruling party PiS has used its tactic of a continuous erosion of the rule of law by appointing their favoured judges into the Constitutional Court because earlier democratic attempts to discuss it in Parliament were not successful. They are instrumentalizing the pandemic, since they know that collective action requires of people to face an increase of risk to catching the virus. And they allow for a violent and oppressive response by police and special forces that is intimidating protesters and leaders of the movement.
We resist these attacks on our common rights to our bodies and to our political voice, #StrajkKobiet
(Picture is from our International Conference in 2016, in which conference participants expressed their solidarity with the protests against criminalization of abortion).
