June 18 (Thursday), 2009. This day was devoted to women’s rights, disabled and LGBT persons’ rights as these groups of society are still discriminated in contemporary Poland.
The first guest was Dr Agnieszka Graff-Osser, feminist, scholar and the author of the first feminist best seller in Poland, «A World Without Women», who told about gender issues in today’s Poland: the historical background about gender and transition to democracy in Eastern Europe, facts about women and work, law, politics changing perceptions. During socialist regime, feminism was associated with communism and bourgeois theory. Dr Agnieszka Graff-Osser mentioned, Polish contemporary society is still unequal for men and women in political and public spheres. One of the reasons is retraditionalization «as reaction to the «fake» feeling about gender equality under state socialism». Poland has this special feature of a great influence of Catholic Church on the state and its important role in Polish patriotic tradition. The religious aspect of perceiving women in a society manifests itself in a myth of a self-sacrificing woman as mother, «I don’t sleep and I wash the floor. Women tell jokes about childishness of men – if you imagine man as somebody who can not hold the baby, you’re stuck holding the baby…». As a result, according CBOS’s survey, in 2009 39% women think that the life in Poland is better for men, 48% - the same for men and women, 7% - better for women. The wage gap between men and women in Poland is 22% and 31% in best-paid groups. Women are better educated but more often unemployed than men. The question is still unanswered: «What should we do for destroying «gender pyramid», «glass ceiling» and «sticky floor»?
In next meeting we encounter what means double jeopardy of being both disabled and a woman. The workshop with Jane Cordell, who is the First Secretary at the British Embassy in Warsaw, was devoted to discussions on the solutions for incorporating women with disabilities successfully into the workplace in Poland; the types of discrimination of these women; the role of social, religious, cultural norms in improvement the situation of people with disabilities. One of the workshop activities was a discussion what kind of skills disabled people can gain trough an experience of exclusion, isolation, discrimination, social hostility and dependence they predominantly face. Jane Cordell may be one of the best examples of women’s activism and the human’s self-power.
The meeting with Agnieszka Weseli, sexuality historian and publicist, queer activist, member of UFA collective, was a different sort of an example for HIA fellows that «invisible» groups not only exist in Poland, but also act and struggle for their rights to be equal members of Polish society. Nowadays, the LGBT-community still struggles to organize itself and to reach out to politicians. Nevertheless, the active members of this community try to eliminate homophobic rhetoric present in the public opinion. Every year LGBT parades in Poland endeavor to support ideas of equal treatment and rights regardless of sexual orientation.
At the end of the day, the fellows discussed the main problems about the present women’s rights and LGBT rights. From my point of view, this activity helped to realize a role of minorities’ community and activism. If we want to improve the situation in Human Rights’ sphere, we should start to change our attitude and ourselves to people who differ from us.
In conclusion, I would want to share my own life value: «We are different, nevertheless, we are equal». We should deeply realize that our society loses great potential for its development when it limits the possibilities for self-realization and for people considered as minorities on different basis.
-Marina Zhukovska (Ukrainian Fellow)
The first guest was Dr Agnieszka Graff-Osser, feminist, scholar and the author of the first feminist best seller in Poland, «A World Without Women», who told about gender issues in today’s Poland: the historical background about gender and transition to democracy in Eastern Europe, facts about women and work, law, politics changing perceptions. During socialist regime, feminism was associated with communism and bourgeois theory. Dr Agnieszka Graff-Osser mentioned, Polish contemporary society is still unequal for men and women in political and public spheres. One of the reasons is retraditionalization «as reaction to the «fake» feeling about gender equality under state socialism». Poland has this special feature of a great influence of Catholic Church on the state and its important role in Polish patriotic tradition. The religious aspect of perceiving women in a society manifests itself in a myth of a self-sacrificing woman as mother, «I don’t sleep and I wash the floor. Women tell jokes about childishness of men – if you imagine man as somebody who can not hold the baby, you’re stuck holding the baby…». As a result, according CBOS’s survey, in 2009 39% women think that the life in Poland is better for men, 48% - the same for men and women, 7% - better for women. The wage gap between men and women in Poland is 22% and 31% in best-paid groups. Women are better educated but more often unemployed than men. The question is still unanswered: «What should we do for destroying «gender pyramid», «glass ceiling» and «sticky floor»?
In next meeting we encounter what means double jeopardy of being both disabled and a woman. The workshop with Jane Cordell, who is the First Secretary at the British Embassy in Warsaw, was devoted to discussions on the solutions for incorporating women with disabilities successfully into the workplace in Poland; the types of discrimination of these women; the role of social, religious, cultural norms in improvement the situation of people with disabilities. One of the workshop activities was a discussion what kind of skills disabled people can gain trough an experience of exclusion, isolation, discrimination, social hostility and dependence they predominantly face. Jane Cordell may be one of the best examples of women’s activism and the human’s self-power.
The meeting with Agnieszka Weseli, sexuality historian and publicist, queer activist, member of UFA collective, was a different sort of an example for HIA fellows that «invisible» groups not only exist in Poland, but also act and struggle for their rights to be equal members of Polish society. Nowadays, the LGBT-community still struggles to organize itself and to reach out to politicians. Nevertheless, the active members of this community try to eliminate homophobic rhetoric present in the public opinion. Every year LGBT parades in Poland endeavor to support ideas of equal treatment and rights regardless of sexual orientation.At the end of the day, the fellows discussed the main problems about the present women’s rights and LGBT rights. From my point of view, this activity helped to realize a role of minorities’ community and activism. If we want to improve the situation in Human Rights’ sphere, we should start to change our attitude and ourselves to people who differ from us.
In conclusion, I would want to share my own life value: «We are different, nevertheless, we are equal». We should deeply realize that our society loses great potential for its development when it limits the possibilities for self-realization and for people considered as minorities on different basis.
-Marina Zhukovska (Ukrainian Fellow)
