Groups have organized a series of events throughout Poland to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The groups, know as Manifas, are staging events in Warsaw, Gdansk, Torun, Krakow and Wroclaw under the slogan - “Every organization, same nonsense,” in protest against male dominated government and businesses.
A march is taking place in the capital, Warsaw, which is demanding the state funding of the IVF procedure, an issue which is currently being hotly debated in Poland, where no concrete laws exists at present. The demonstration begins outside the Palace of Culture and finishing outside the parliament building, the Sejm.
A survey by CBOS pollsters last week found that 77% of accept the method as a legitimate way of conception and 41% think it should be partly subsidized by the state. Fifty one percent say that not only married couples should have access to IVF.
On March 1,pro-life groups demonstrated against IVF in Poznan, western Poland, which attracted 1500 people who aimed to, “sensitize society to the realization of the inimitable beginning of the life of a human being,” said Pawel Wosicki, the president of the Polish federation for the defence of life: “Human life is loosing its value like never before, and all over the world million of babies die in the mother’s womb,” he said.
Despite the demonstrations the political nature of women’s day has declined since the end of communism in Poland. These days, the event is similar to Mother’s Day, when men give women flowers, chocolates or other presents.
The ‘international’ in the International Women’s Day is a slight misnomer, however, as it is mainly countries that were influenced by the Soviet bloc that observe March 8. Poland - which has celebrated the day since 1948 - is joined by Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Israel, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam. (pg)