I Document How People Protest The New Law That Bans Abortion In Poland (40 Pics)
On Wednesday, thousands of women went out to march against a new law that bans abortion. The protests have been going on for 7 days, with no apparent end in sight.
Like many other Polish cities, Krakow's streets are full of angry people who want to make a change to this injustice. Here is my photoreportage covering it. The protesters have chosen the symbol of red lightning, used red and white-colored makeup and signs of red hoods, which represent the series Handmaid's Tale, in which the authoritarian state violates the rights of women.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the ruling Law and Justice party leader, has called on his supporters to "defend Poland" against protesters that want to "destroy the nation." Things have been escalating rapidly, and riot police were deployed a day ago. Many critics call the use of such martial methods undemocratic and unfair to its citizens, to say the least.
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"So bad that even introverts came out"
Layla say that to homeless and poor people who need it, not an internet website
Load More Replies...but it just bothers me that that women on the left isn't covering her nose too
Maybe her mask fell off of her nose and she was trying to cover it back up?
Load More Replies...Law and Justice (PiS) is suspicious.
"#Striking women
Hope your d**k steps on a LEGO"
"#Women's hell"
Ooh that's too bad, I liked the "Hope your d**k steps on a LEGO" translation/version, someone should make that sign for real
Load More Replies...One in the middle from what I can see is 'instead of stop(ping) covid I'd chose to stop PIS'
"Obyś ch*** wdepnął w LEGO" means "I wish you'll step on LEGO, you d**k"
Hi, I'm doing a university essay on these protests for a module about feminism, I was wondering if its okay if I use some of your photos, I will provide a link to this page and your username. Thanks!
Are you Polish or did you use Google Translate? XD, just a joke, not trying to offend anyone. In fact, I'm impressed:)
Load More Replies..."Rights for people with uterus"
Poster with ***** ***: "Not every Kaja is like Godek". Kaja Godek is Polish extreme anty-choice activist, who helped to force almost complete abortion ban in Poland into life.
I dont think her stance is even "almost complete" - its just "totally not allowed" bs right now.
Load More Replies...Stopping to protest on his way to deliver an Uber Eats order. Love it:)
"This government topples women over"
I am probably being an idiot, but what is abortion?{I am in 7th grade and I want to know more about this issue
Oh, Almighty, enlighten us and translate it better then. Comment section is open, as far as I know.
Load More Replies...Posters on right: "I'm afraid to start a family in my own country", "God with you, f**k us", "Pissed off Pikachu"
-I should be Paying attention to the protest, but I was looking at that Headless Pigeon @v@-
8 stars on the banner is a "jebac PiS" (f**k PiS, the ruling party) "censored" slogan.
this pigeon was the first victim (R.I.N. rest in the nest, brother)
If any of you is wondering why there's a Moomin sign, there is a story behind this: after the constitutional tribunal sentence, Kaja Godek (the extreme anti-choice activist) posted on her FB a convo with her son: "- You know you can't kill Moomins anymore? - What, mum? - The Moomins are safe now. -Cool, thanks mum!". And the official Moomin FP commented on that saying they do not agree with Moomins being used for political purposes. She deleted the comment, but there are screenshots :)
Honestly Portland is the worlds biggest cesspool it has an insane amount of human trafficking and homeless people. Portland sucks.
Those 8 stars are a symbol for "f**k PiS" ( jebać PiS) PiS is a ruling party
Left to right: illegible --> "Kaczor (Jarosław Kaczyński), you stole the moon already, don't steal women's freedom" (allusion to the movie he starred as a child). ---> "If they want to have an abortion, they fu**ing will do it anyway" --> (behing other poster) "Who sows the wind reaps the storm"
The one with the moon says "Kaczor (Kaczyński) You already stole moon, don't steal women's freedom". Jarosław Kaczyński and his late twin brother Lech (he was the president that died in Smolensk catastrophy) starred as kids in a movie called "About two boys who stole the moon"
"Kaczor, you already stole the moon, dont steal women's freedom" is refering to the movie that Jaroslaw Kaczynski was a child actor in.
"wypie***j/wypie***ć" means "go the f**k out" and it's the most common slogan during those protests. it's rude, but, well, everybody knew "kurwa" one before... it may be your second polish word, congrats.
"Jak chcecie sterować życiem innych to kupcie sobie Simsy" = "If you want to control the lives of others, buy the Sims"
Poster with scythe: "I was already nice". Poster with top of church: "Away with backwardness"
"Miła już byłam" will be rather something like: "I was nice before (and I won't be nice now)"
Load More Replies...I'm almost sure I'm translating this incorrectly, since it has two idioms in it, but it's more or less something like: "The women are upset: 'Oh, the curse on the Duck!'". (It's a word-play: 'Kaczka' - Duck - is an allusion to "Kaczyński", last name of Polish politic). Also, the slogan is a quote from poem written by Jan Brzechwa.
Nah, it's a good translation. It's not a direct quote though, it's a paraphrase :)
Load More Replies...It can also mean "It's scary to coexist" <--as a second, less popular meaning ...
Photo taken in Krakow in front of the house of Antoni Suski, a wealthy Krakovian merchant from the beginning of XX century. The fun thing is, that Suski is the name of a prominent PIS politician who is largely known for being a complete idiot (the man never heard of Katherine the Great, and once said that Poles like to go on vacation to African countries like Egypt, so an airport south of Warsaw is great for them, which is why the international airport (hub^^) in Radom is such an splendid idea).
The stars means "jebać(fiirst 5 stars) PiS (last 3 stars)" (f**k the Law and Justice Party).
Historically, hangers were used as an implement to perform illegal abortions. It symbolizes the fact that a ban doesn't stop abotrtions, it only makes them more dangerous to women.
Load More Replies...I was appalled when I heard about this. The thing is no law will ever prevent abortions, it will just stop SAFE abortions. We women are humans not breeding machines and deserve to have the right over our own bodies. Men should not have a say in what we can do to our bodies and should not be able to have a vote on the matter. That is not their right.
EXACTLY. When you ban a safe medical procedure, you have women risking their lives and health with alternatives. It's 2020, those risks do not need to be taken.
Load More Replies...Finally! I was waiting for some kind of article about situation in Poland and I'm SO happy it was finally published! Let the world know what happened in our country!
Enuya I like in the UK and this is the first I have heard about it, so sad the BBC and other news outlets have not reported it. I stand with My Polish sisters.
Load More Replies...Some countries are making giant steps into the past...Wehn I was born, in Germany a woman couldn't have her own bank account without the approuval of her husband... her husband could force her to quit her job when he thought that her work had a negative impact on the housekeeping...
It's so awful, sad, and unfair! 😣 Unthinkable in the 21st century. Every person should have a right to choose what to do with their own body!
TheSneakyNinja, Firstly a foetus is not a child, it is developing to become a child but is not a child/person. So an abortion is not killing a child or a person. Secondly you cannot compare the laws of someone killing a living and breathing person to a foetus. A living person has friends, family, personality, identity, memories and awareness. A foetus has none of those. Thirdly saying a women should not have created a child is extremely ignorant, the woman doesn’t just CHOOSE to fall pregnant and it happens, 1 in 100 pregnancies is the result of contraception failure. So people do take precautions, it’s just ZERO contraception is 100% effective. Lastly just because you say the child should be treated with love and care doesn’t mean it works, just look at the cases of neglect, physical, emotional and sexual abuse, parents murdering their children etc. Women being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to full term can cause resentment and hate towards the child which can lead to abuse.
Load More Replies...In Malta, which is also an EU member state, there is a total ban on abortion. No exceptions. Sad to see Poland going the same way.
Wow, that's super scary. Polish women can (at least, not saying it's the way it should be) at least drive a couple of hours to get to one of the neighbour countries and get the procedure done there. In Malta, that's waaay trickier. :(
Load More Replies...Respect existence or expect resistance. I was horrified when I heard the announcement to stop legal abortion. They can't ever actually stop abortion, they will only make it more dangerous. It has nothing to do with men and thus should not be their choice, they have no say in this. Our bodies, our fight. Women are NOT baby generators, is it that hard of a concept for some people to grasp?
MY body, MY uterus, MY f****** choice! Why is this such a hard concept for people to grasp?
The reason why it is hard to grasp is that while it is your uterus and your body, there is a separate innocent human baby inside of your body. You should not be able to decide whether or not that beautiful baby lives or dies. That is why people have a hard time understanding when others end the lives of babies in the womb and then say "it's my body my choice".
Load More Replies...Let me just say, at the end of the day, it is the woman's choice. Sure, she can talk to the father about it, but he cannot influence her decision. If she is not ready to have a child, then she doesn't have to have the child. She can choose to put it up for adoption if she wants to give birth, or she can decide to abort it. Never force a choice onto anyone, because forcing a woman to have children can lead to the woman and/or the child dying during birth. Hope you have a good day.
Poland law bans abortions in the case of fetal defects. Still allows them for rape, incest or danger to mother's life.
please.. doctors will wait with decision that pregnancy thretens women's life to the very last moment and in many cases it will be too late to save the mother's life
Load More Replies...This is what you get, if you allow belivers of any god have right to be voted on, or vote. Its just a matter of time untill its f****d up like this.
I was appalled when I heard about this. The thing is no law will ever prevent abortions, it will just stop SAFE abortions. We women are humans not breeding machines and deserve to have the right over our own bodies. Men should not have a say in what we can do to our bodies and should not be able to have a vote on the matter. That is not their right.
EXACTLY. When you ban a safe medical procedure, you have women risking their lives and health with alternatives. It's 2020, those risks do not need to be taken.
Load More Replies...Finally! I was waiting for some kind of article about situation in Poland and I'm SO happy it was finally published! Let the world know what happened in our country!
Enuya I like in the UK and this is the first I have heard about it, so sad the BBC and other news outlets have not reported it. I stand with My Polish sisters.
Load More Replies...Some countries are making giant steps into the past...Wehn I was born, in Germany a woman couldn't have her own bank account without the approuval of her husband... her husband could force her to quit her job when he thought that her work had a negative impact on the housekeeping...
It's so awful, sad, and unfair! 😣 Unthinkable in the 21st century. Every person should have a right to choose what to do with their own body!
TheSneakyNinja, Firstly a foetus is not a child, it is developing to become a child but is not a child/person. So an abortion is not killing a child or a person. Secondly you cannot compare the laws of someone killing a living and breathing person to a foetus. A living person has friends, family, personality, identity, memories and awareness. A foetus has none of those. Thirdly saying a women should not have created a child is extremely ignorant, the woman doesn’t just CHOOSE to fall pregnant and it happens, 1 in 100 pregnancies is the result of contraception failure. So people do take precautions, it’s just ZERO contraception is 100% effective. Lastly just because you say the child should be treated with love and care doesn’t mean it works, just look at the cases of neglect, physical, emotional and sexual abuse, parents murdering their children etc. Women being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to full term can cause resentment and hate towards the child which can lead to abuse.
Load More Replies...In Malta, which is also an EU member state, there is a total ban on abortion. No exceptions. Sad to see Poland going the same way.
Wow, that's super scary. Polish women can (at least, not saying it's the way it should be) at least drive a couple of hours to get to one of the neighbour countries and get the procedure done there. In Malta, that's waaay trickier. :(
Load More Replies...Respect existence or expect resistance. I was horrified when I heard the announcement to stop legal abortion. They can't ever actually stop abortion, they will only make it more dangerous. It has nothing to do with men and thus should not be their choice, they have no say in this. Our bodies, our fight. Women are NOT baby generators, is it that hard of a concept for some people to grasp?
MY body, MY uterus, MY f****** choice! Why is this such a hard concept for people to grasp?
The reason why it is hard to grasp is that while it is your uterus and your body, there is a separate innocent human baby inside of your body. You should not be able to decide whether or not that beautiful baby lives or dies. That is why people have a hard time understanding when others end the lives of babies in the womb and then say "it's my body my choice".
Load More Replies...Let me just say, at the end of the day, it is the woman's choice. Sure, she can talk to the father about it, but he cannot influence her decision. If she is not ready to have a child, then she doesn't have to have the child. She can choose to put it up for adoption if she wants to give birth, or she can decide to abort it. Never force a choice onto anyone, because forcing a woman to have children can lead to the woman and/or the child dying during birth. Hope you have a good day.
Poland law bans abortions in the case of fetal defects. Still allows them for rape, incest or danger to mother's life.
please.. doctors will wait with decision that pregnancy thretens women's life to the very last moment and in many cases it will be too late to save the mother's life
Load More Replies...This is what you get, if you allow belivers of any god have right to be voted on, or vote. Its just a matter of time untill its f****d up like this.
