{"id":2469,"date":"2021-04-14T15:24:27","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T08:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/?p=2469"},"modified":"2021-05-07T00:10:23","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T17:10:23","slug":"authoritarian-shift-and-strajk-kobiet-womens-strike-in-poland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/2021\/04\/authoritarian-shift-and-strajk-kobiet-womens-strike-in-poland\/","title":{"rendered":"Authoritarian Shift and \u201cStrajk Kobiet\u201d (Women\u2019s Strike) in Poland"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Source: CNN<\/span><\/p>\n

Women in Poland have been protesting the government in the past few months. They reject the ruling party\u2019s plan to ban abortions caused by congenital fetal defects, including the situation when the fetus is unlikely to survive. After this proposal, Poland, already a state with the strictest abortion law in Europe, will only allow abortion based on two causes, pregnancies caused by rape or incest and the ones posing danger to the woman\u2019s survival. The proposal that was inaugurated on 22 October by Constitutional Tribunal (Poland\u2019s highest court) triggered women to start taking the streets (Korycki, 2020). As time goes by, the movement is joined by many groups affiliating together against the conservative government and the strong influence of the Catholic Church in Poland <\/span>(Gera, 2020)<\/span>. To better understand this problem, we need to dig deeper into the emergence of Poland\u2019s <\/span>Prawo I Sprawiedliwo\u015b\u0107 (PiS) party.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PiS\u2019s Rise in 2015<\/b><\/h1>\n

Poland\u2019s democratic shift was hailed as one of Europe\u2019s successful democratic transformations in the 1990s. In those years, Poland joined the Council of Europe (1991), NATO (1999), EU (2004), and the Schengen (2007). It was considered one of the leaders among former communist countries in becoming well-functioning democracies in 2002. Before the 2015 election, Poland\u2019s economy surpassed other European countries. Poland was the only EU member state that did not experience a recession during the 2008 global economic crisis (<\/span>European Stability Initiative et al., 2018, p.<\/span> 3).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Poland\u2019s President, Andrzej Duda<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: The Jakarta Post<\/span><\/p>\n

Andrzej Duda, the presidential candidate of PiS (Law and Justice Party), won the election in 2015. PiS also won the majority seats in Poland\u2019s bicameral legislation body, the Sejm (lower house) and Senate (upper house) <\/span>(European Stability Initiative et al., 2018,<\/span> p. 4). Before the election, PiS used a populist approach in its campaign. The ideas include protecting the nation from external interference (e.g. \u201dBrussels\u201d\u00a0 or the EU), protecting the traditional values, rejecting refugees and Muslim immigration, decreasing the retirement age, and increasing support for families. In early October 2015, PiS\u2019s party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski stated in his speech that migrants have brought parasites, protozoa, and diseases such as cholera and dysentery to Europe. He also predicted that Poland might be forced to receive 100,000 Muslims unless PiS is in charge. This is rather an exaggerated number compared to EU policy that wanted to relocate (only) a few thousand immigrants to Poland. However, this campaign contributed to PiS\u2019s success in becoming the majority in the government. (<\/span>European Stability Initiative et al., 2018,<\/span> p. 4)<\/span><\/p>\n

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PiS\u2019s Party Leader, <\/span>Jaroslaw Kaczynski<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: Politico<\/span><\/p>\n

In December 2015, PiS dominated Sejm (lower house of Polish\u2019 parliament) started an attack on Constitutional Tribunal (this institution examines the government policies). The Sejm created policies that jeopardize the objectivity and function of the Tribunal by slowly replacing its members. The move was not surprising considering the party\u2019s opposition against impossibilism, the idea that courts had legitimate rights to limit the government. In December 2016, the Tribunal\u2019s president term ended. PiS elected Julia Przy\u0142\u0119bska (A PiS person) as the president of Constitutional Tribunal and \u201cdischarging\u201d the vice president by giving him \u201choliday\u201d until his retirement. After this event, the Constitutional Tribunal was silenced (or conquered) by PiS (Council of Europe, 2017; European Stability Initiative et al., 2018, pp. 4-6).<\/span><\/p>\n

PiS continued by disabling the country\u2019s Supreme Court, National Council of the Judiciary, court system and reformed the judiciary school. The Supreme Court and its president, <\/span>Malgorzata Gersdorf, fought for judges\u2019 independence for almost 4 years, constantly accused of protecting their self-centered interest instead of the people (Easton, 2020). Sadly, Gersdorf retired and she was replaced by President Duda with a PiS participant, Kamil Zaradkiewicz.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kaczy\u0144ski used his power in the past four years to change Poland\u2019s democratic structure. He turned television networks into reliable partners in spreading the government\u2019s propaganda, restricted free speech, weakened the independence of many institutions including electoral commission, and held trials against political opponents (Mounk, 2019).<\/span><\/p>\n

The party\u2019s reasoning behind these decisions was considered false and dissimilar with the reality, for example, the party pointed that the court system was inefficient and slow when Poland has the 12<\/span>th<\/span> most efficient system among 28 European countries. Another point, the minister of justice now has big power over a judge\u2019s career, making sure the judges with different views to interfere the current administration (European Stability Initiative et al., 2018, pp. 8-12).<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a pattern in all these cases. The government will ignore the objection given by each institution (even for years). When the members\u2019 term ended, the government will replace them with PiS people. The strategy was also used against external objection coming from institutions such as EU. In this situation, the government of Poland would promise to replace and fix its laws and institutions, without any further action. The state\u2019s relation with Hungary (with its veto power in EU) also cemented the protection of Poland\u2019s authoritarian rise from EU\u2019s objection. (European Stability Initiative et al., 2018, pp. 14-17).<\/span><\/p>\n

Catholic Church\u2019s Influence in Poland<\/b><\/h1>\n

Catholic Church has a big influence over Poland. The country has always been religious even in the communism era (Campbell, 2020). Catholic teaching is given in public schools and it is funded by the state. The church also operates the densest radio network in Europe and 120 publishing houses which publish 300 newspapers. Poland\u2019s church is considered the largest landlord and landholder in the state. It is clear, Catholic teaching has a deep influence on the country\u2019s system (Korycki, 2020).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current Protest<\/b><\/h1>\n

Kaczy\u0144ski\u2019s attack on independent institutions, right-wing and conservative-populist mindset has worsened the tensions between Poland groups. The protest is a battle between the metropolitan and rural people, the conservative and liberal people, democratic and current government\u2019s supporter, the secular and religious, church-government and its opposition, and women against the government (Mounk, 2019).<\/span><\/p>\n

PiS\u2019s leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski had said in a speech that he wanted the nonviable (without any chance of survival) fetuses to be carried to birth, so the fetuses can be baptized, be given a name, then burial <\/span>(Gera, 2020)<\/span>. The near-total ban of abortion bill was introduced in 2016, but it was rejected in the parliament on 6 October 2020 after mases gather and held the Black Monday protest on 3 Oct 2020) (Kramer, 2016). Then on 22 October 2020, Constitutional Tribunal ruled that abortion, due to fetal defect, is unconstitutional (Henley, 2020). According to Polish Ministry of Health, fetal defect accounts for 98%, (1,080) of Poland\u2019s legally executed abortion in 2019 (Mortensen & Smith-Spark, 2020). And this is the start of the biggest protest since the fall of communism in Poland (in1980s), 430,000 women and their supporters took the street to reject the bill and ask for a reform of the government (Korycki, 2020). The full demand of the protest can be seen here <\/span>http:\/\/strajkkobiet.eu\/postulaty\/<\/span><\/a>. The implementation of the abortion bill is then delayed by the Polish government (Walker, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/b><\/h1>\n

Campbell, E. (2020, April 29). <\/span>Poland\u2019s government is leading a Catholic revival. It has minorities and liberals worried<\/span><\/i>. ABC News. <\/span>https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2020-04-28\/poland-catholic-church-revival-lgbt-rights\/12180704<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Council of Europe. (2017, January 25). <\/span>Statement by the President of the Venice Commission regarding the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>https:\/\/www.coe.int\/en\/web\/human-rights-rule-of-law\/events\/-\/asset_publisher\/E5WWthsy4Jfg\/content\/statement-by-the-president-of-the-venice-commission-regarding-the-constitutional-tribunal-of-poland?desktop=true<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Easton, B. A. (2020, April 30). <\/span>Polish state becoming authoritarian, top judge Gersdorf says<\/span><\/i>. BBC News. <\/span>https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-52489336<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

European Stability Initiative, ideaForum, Buras, P., & Knaus, G. (2018, May). <\/span>Where the law ends. The collapse of the rule of law in Poland \u2013 and what to do<\/span><\/i>. European Stability Initiative. <\/span>https:\/\/www.esiweb.org\/publications\/where-law-ends-collapse-rule-law-poland-and-what-do<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gera, V. (2020, December 2). <\/span>Rage and hope fuel women\u2019s revolt over abortion in Poland<\/span><\/i>. AP NEWS. <\/span>https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/international-news-poland-coronavirus-pandemic-warsaw-991486e805982e0824227432d901ee83<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Henley, J. (2020, November 10). <\/span>\u201cA backlash against a patriarchal culture\u201d: How Polish protests go beyond abortion rights<\/span><\/i>. The Guardian. <\/span>https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/nov\/06\/a-backlash-against-a-patriarchal-culture-how-polish-protests-go-beyond-abortion-rights<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Korycki, K. (2020, November 17). <\/span>Polish women reject the Catholic Church\u2019s hold on their country<\/span><\/i>. The Conversation. <\/span>https:\/\/theconversation.com\/polish-women-reject-the-catholic-churchs-hold-on-their-country-149609<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kramer, A. (2016, October 7). <\/span>The battle over abortion rights in Poland is not over<\/span><\/i>. The Conversation. <\/span>https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-battle-over-abortion-rights-in-poland-is-not-over-66652<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mortensen, A., & Smith-Spark, L. (2020, October 31). <\/span>Poland\u2019s biggest protests in decades stand against abortion ban<\/span><\/i>. CNN. <\/span>https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2020\/10\/31\/europe\/poland-abortion-protests-scli-intl\/index.html<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mounk, Y. (2019, October 9). <\/span>Poland Could Lose Its Democracy<\/span><\/i>. The Atlantic. <\/span>https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2019\/10\/poland-could-lose-its-democracy\/599590\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

POSTULATY | Og\u00f3lnopolski Strajk Kobiet<\/span><\/i>. (n.d.). Strajk Kobiet. Retrieved December 27, 2020, from <\/span>http:\/\/strajkkobiet.eu\/postulaty\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walker, S. (2020, November 3). <\/span>Poland delays abortion ban as nationwide protests continue<\/span><\/i>. The Guardian. <\/span>https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/nov\/03\/poland-stalls-abortion-ban-amid-nationwide-protests<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Author: Rizky Liberty Siajaya | IRB News<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Editor: Uttari Kandha Ariwangsa | IRB News<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: CNN Women in Poland have been protesting the government in the past few months. They reject the ruling party\u2019s plan to ban abortions caused by congenital fetal defects, including the situation when the fetus is unlikely to survive. After this proposal, Poland, already a state with the strictest abortion law in Europe, will only […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":2470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,30,39,38],"tags":[213,214,212,211,210,215],"class_list":["post-2469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-internasional","category-peace-conflict-domestik","category-politics-domestik","tag-andrzejduda","tag-authoritarianshift","tag-jaroslawkaczynki","tag-pis","tag-ploand","tag-womensinpoland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2469"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2716,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469\/revisions\/2716"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}