Thousands upon thousands of women left their jobs, schools, and homes on Monday to flood the streets of Poland.
TO SIĘ NAZYWA KOBIECA SOLIDARNOŚĆ! TO JEST NIESAMOWITE !!! STRAJK W WARSZAWIE #BlackProtest #CzarnyProtest
The #blackmonday strike was organized to protest a proposed law that would essentially ban abortion for any reason.
#CzarnyProtest #czarnyponiedziałek #czarnymarsz
The proposed law would further tighten Poland's abortion laws, already among the strictest in Europe, by eliminating access to the procedure for rape survivors or in the case of fatal fetal abnormalities. The law would also prohibit medical personnel from performing abortions unless a woman was in "imminent" danger of dying and could effectively criminalize miscarriage.
The proposed bill survived its first parliamentary vote last week and was referred to a parliamentary committee for further input.
"Going to [the proposed] total ban would be something really odious, and something that would make life of women there extremely dangerous," Irene Donadio, public affairs manager for the International Planned Parenthood Federation's European Network, told BuzzFeed News by telephone.
When we say "thousands of women" — we mean it.
Sad times in #Poland! #blackmonday #CzarnyProtest millions protest against crazy government 😡😲 #RT
As in, seriously a lot of women.
MASSIVE turnout in Warsaw #CzarnyProtest via @PStrzalkowski
In the capital of Warsaw alone, there were 25,000 women declaring their opposition to the bill.
POLAND! I am so proud of us! 💪🏼#CzarnyProtest #blackprotest #czarnyponiedziałek #blackmonday #warsaw #poland… https://t.co/PHjVux5Vqr
They also came out in Krakow...
#czarnyprotest #blackprotest So proud of #Krakow tonight. Tens of thousands of people out on the Main Square.
...Poznan...
Weather won't stop us! @CityOfPoznan #Poland #blackprotest #BlackMonday
...Bialystok...
...Katowice....
Tak to wygląda w #Katowice (fot. GPLook.pl) #CzarnyProtest
...Lublin... and other Polish cities and towns.
Czarny protest w Lublinie https://t.co/pEeIU7OpxN #czarnyprotest
"I have no idea who started it," said Marta Szostak of ASTRA, the Central and Eastern European Women’s Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Health. "It was not an NGO. It was not a person who’s been fighting for women’s rights to abortion for many years. What’s happening now is more a civil movement, a grassroots movement — because women are very furious. They’re very scared."
That's what elections are for #blackprotest #BlackMonday #CzarnyProtest #czarnyponiedziałek #Warsaw
"It has never happened in my life to see that large amount of women going to the streets fighting for reproductive rights," said Szostak.
That may be because this is the first initiative to narrow abortion rights that's found any real success, thanks to parliamentary elections last year that ushered in a right-wing government. "We’ve been facing numerous anti-choice initiatives every two to three years for the past decade," Szostak said. "But something have been proposing for a long time but only now found good ground for this."
The protests even went international — to Berlin, Germany and Helsinki, Finland.
Women in Poland, you're not alone! Hundreds are protesting alongside in Berlin at the moment. (Via @aleksslota)… https://t.co/BclWn8ZEAR
No woman no kraj #helsinki #blackmonday #SavePolishWomen #CzarnyProtest
Women marched in London, England
Chants at @PolishEmbassyUK as the crowd taking part in #CzarnyProtest #blackprotest still grows in numbers
and Limerick, Ireland...
#CzarnyProtest #blackprotest today in #Limerick Solidarity with our Polish sisters #OurBodiesOurChoice #repealthe8th
In Dublin...
At the protest against the new Polish abortion bill at the Polish embassy in Dublin now #blackprotest #repealthe8th
and even in Aleppo, Syria, people showed their support.
"Wyrazy wsparcia z oblężonego #Aleppo" https://t.co/L4xGbZNViJ #CzarnyProtest #CzarnyPoniedziałek @tygodnik @hfhrpl… https://t.co/DJZXXJn1mI
For Donadio, the international resonance makes sense. "I think that in Poland it’s extremely terrifying, but it’s not isolated [there]. We see constant attack to women’s rights all over Europe and also all over the world," she said.
Social media was full of love for the protests, but inside Poland, the story looks a bit different. "The national media are trying to make it look like a gathering of hysterical feminists," Sztoska, of ASTRA, said. "And some Catholic Church officials have called the protest 'a manifest of the civilization of death.'"
KEEP YOUR THEOLOGY OFF MY BIOLOGY #BlackMonday #Poland #czarnyponiedziałek #CzarnyProtest
The European Parliament (EP) is scheduled to debate the law in a session on Wednesday. Elly Schein, an EP member from Italy, declared her solidarity — but it's still unclear which side the debate might favor.
I stand with Polish women fighting for their rights #CzarnyProtest #blackprotest #womensrights #womenonstrike… https://t.co/1AKVeniO18
Pro-choice activists are hoping the European Parliament will adhere to its own advice. Last year, the parliament chastised Paraguay for its abortion law, with restrictions similar to the Polish proposal. But that adherence isn't a given.
"We know that it’s easier to be brave about the situation in countries that are really far away, and it's more difficult to have a bold stand with a member of the same club," Donadio said. "We do hope that the European Parliament and parliamentarians there will show support and coherence in their stand."