After Abortion Law Protest, What Stands in the Way of Gender Equality in Poland?

After Abortion Law Protest, What Stands in the Way of Gender Equality in Poland?
Polish women protest against a legislative proposal for a total ban on abortion, Warsaw, Poland, Oct. 3, 2016 (AP photo by Czarek Sokolowski).

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the status of women’s rights and gender equality in various countries around the globe.

On Oct. 3, women in Poland staged a massive strike to protest a proposed law that would have criminalized all abortions, including in instances of rape or incest, and set punishments for women of up to five years in prison. Days later, lawmakers voted down the bill in parliament. In an email interview, Malgorzata Druciarek, the head of the Gender Equality Survey at the Institute for Public Affairs, discusses women’s rights in Poland.

WPR: What is the current status of women’s rights and gender equality in Poland?

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