Thousands of Polish women go on strike to protest abortion ban
Women in Poland are waging a nationwide strike boycotting school and jobs to protest the introduction of a total ban on abortion.
In an event dubbed "Black Monday," thousands of women avoided workplaces and schools, and businesses closed their doors to protest a new law that would criminalise all terminations in Poland.
Women took both paid and unpaid leave as part of the protest, and strikers staged a picket line -- named the "Wall of Fury" -- under the right wing Law and Justice party's headquarters.
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The striking women marched through the streets of Warsaw on Monday wearing black clothes and waving black flags as a sign of mourning for the prospective loss of their reproductive rights.
Poland already has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, but the introduction of a proposed new law would see the total abolition of Polish women's access to abortions.
Under the proposed law -- which has already cleared one parliamentary hurdle -- women found to have had an abortion would face five-year prison sentences and any doctors assisting in abortions would also face prison. The proposed law also seeks to ban in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).
Critics have warned that women could die if the proposed law is passed in its current state.
The new law could see women who miscarry being investigated on suspicion of having an abortion.
Female protesters in Warsaw and Gdańsk brandished coat hangers -- a symbol of illegal abortion -- during public demonstrations and were flanked by many male supporters.
The general strike is inspired by a women's strike waged in Iceland in 1975, during which women nationwide refused to work, cook and look after children for a day.
According to the BBC, "it was a moment that changed the way women were seen in the country and helped put Iceland at the forefront of the fight for equality." Demonstrations have taken place throughout European cities Monday in solidarity with Polish women, and many have taken to social media, using the #BlackMonday hashtag to pledge their support.
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Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
