“Others”
Are Around Us
by
Marta Siwka and Robert Tessier
In every
society, there must always exist “others,” or groups that lie outside of those
in power. These “others” are often minorities, such as the LGBTQ community.
However, they can also consist of a very large group such as women. These two
groups comprise a major portion of the “others” in Poland, and our discussions
of them in Humanity in Action have been about their rights and treatment by
society at large.
LGBTQ Perspective
The
treatment of an art project called Tęcza, or Rainbow, has formed a microcosm of and a parallel to the larger
conversation of LGBTQ rights in Poland at large. It is a large public art
project in Savior Square of Warsaw, constructed out of artificial flowers by
Julita Wójcik.
The
installment is in a series of such rainbows, and they are meant to simply evoke
positive feelings normally associated with rainbows. In fact, when visiting the
rainbow I personally felt many of those same feelings and felt the display to be light
hearted. However, like with many other sites in Warsaw, the concept became much
more complex after closer inspection. I quickly noticed two policemen guarding
the rainbow, which has actually become a political symbol. As in many parts of the world, the rainbow in general has
often been taken as a symbol of the struggle for LGBTQ rights in Poland. The
rainbow has actually been destroyed with fire five times by vandals seeking to
make a statement against LGBTQ peoples. Each time it is destroyed, it is
rebuilt and people often gather in support of LGBTQ rights. They pose for
photos, kissing and hugging below the installment. This extreme dichotomy
between right wing conservatism moving against and small civil groups moving
for LGBTQ rights is reflective of the political landscape in Poland at large.
There are
however also those who support LGBTQ rights in the political sphere. Anna
Grodzka, a transgender woman, has served as a member of the Polish Parliament
since her election in 2011. She is currently a member of the Green Party in
Poland. Her presence forces LGBTQ rights discussions more so in the public
sphere. She is of course a politician with a range of passions and issues that
she works on. However, she has gained particular attention and often scrutiny
due to her gender status. This is worth criticizing in its own right, as it is
not necessarily the responsibility of LGBTQ politicians to play the token and
focus on LGBTQ rights. It is often the case that politicians from the LGBTQ
community become expected to be the champions for the community’s rights.
However, all politicians should care about this issue. A politician should not
have their political role solely defined by their sexual orientation or gender
status. This phenomena can be extrapolated as well to discussions about LGBTQ
politicians around the world and the discourse around sexual and gender rights
and discrimination.
Women Perspective
Women Perspective
Are we
all, men and women, given equal opportunities to become a part of the
strengthening democracy? Poland has a woman serving as Prime Minister. The
government has ratified the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence
against Women and Domestic Violence. The Catholic Church is trying to scare
Polish society with rhetoric denouncing what they label as “gender ideology.”
There is an ongoing debate on whether men should engage in home life and upbringing
– the roles traditionally assigned to women. Both men and women can benefit
from paternal engagement: women can have more time for themselves, men can
become closer to their children, and children can gain both parents’ attention.
There should be no doubt why paternity leave policies have been implemented (although
still only around 20% of those entitled used this opportunity).
The
concept of maternity is being interpreted differently today. Some women
complain about the difficulty of being a mother and a full-time employee
simultaneously. They feel underappreciated because playing the role of a mother
is depreciated in society. The main problems women in Poland are facing right
now are fear of job loss and discrimination in the work place. Data gathered by
the Centre for Public Opinion Research in the report entitled For whom life in Poland is most difficult? (Komu w Polsce żyje się najtrudniej?,
2013) indicates that 55,8% of women worry about job loss and 8,3% of women have
experienced discrimination in the workplace. The problem of sexual harassment
in the workplace is almost invisible in Polish statistics. The data from
National Labor Inspectorate gathered in 2012 shows that only 12 complaints
about sexual harassment were lodged that year. However, the results of the
research conducted by the Centre for Public Opinion Research (2007) indicate
that every tenth woman under 34 years old has been a victim of sexual
harassment in the workplace. Unfortunately, there are no established agencies
that help women that consider themselves victims of sexual harassment. Also,
there were no educational campaigns launched on the topic. The report by
European Commission (2014) concerning the disparities between men’s and women’s
remuneration while working the same job points out that women are paid 6,4% less
and still cannot go rise above the so-called glass ceiling.
Women in
Poland try to build their position in many ways, such as attending Congress of
Women, seeking positions in the Parliament, and getting involved in NGO work on
women empowerment. Strengthening the position of women is the basis of a
negative stereotype of them acting as feminists who are dismissed as frustrated
and unhappy women.
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