• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, April 23, 2021
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Polish Government Walks Back Plans to Abandon Treaty Protecting Women

Jonah Fox by Jonah Fox
07/27/20
in World
Protesters hold banners reading "Women's Strike" as they take part in protest against the Polish government plans to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on prevention and combatting of home violence, in Warsaw, Poland on July 24, 2020.

Protesters in Warsaw hold banners reading "Women's Strike" in response to the Polish governments plans to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. Photo: Wojtek Radwanski/AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Poland’s right-wing government went into damage control on Monday after it drew criticism at home and abroad for saying it planned to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty fighting violence against women.

“There is no official, unequivocal decision regarding the Istanbul Convention,” Michal Dworczyk, a member of the conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) and head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, told Polsat News.

The convention, which Poland ratified in 2015, has been signed by most European countries as well as the European Union.

But on Saturday, ultra-conservative Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro announced his intention to withdraw Poland from the landmark agreement.

“It contains elements of an ideological nature, which we consider harmful,” he stated at a news conference.

Thousands of Poles took to the streets in protest, and other officials from across Europe voiced similar outrage.

“Leaving the Istanbul Convention would be highly regrettable and a major step backwards in the protection of women against violence in Europe,” said Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinović Burić in a statement.

Now, the government is insisting it has not committed to withdrawal. PiS spokesman Radoslaw Fogiel said that people outraged by the prospect are acting prematurely.

Opposite Poles

The Istanbul Convention covers a lot of ground in the fight against women’s violence. The preamble to the treaty recognizes the urgency of ending “domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape, forced marriage,” and genital mutilation.

But to the treaty’s opponents, these provisions are less concerning than a perceived effort to impose gender ideology. Polish Deputy Justice Minister Michał Wójcik said in a TV interview that “[t]here is no consent to smuggle ideology under the protection of the rights of people.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda speaking to supporters after exit poll results found him slightly ahead in Polands presidential election on July 12, 2020.
Polish President Andrzej Duda speaking to supporters after exit poll results found him slightly ahead in Poland’s presidential election on July 12, 2020. Photo: Janek Skarzynski/AFP

Socially conservative rhetoric like this helped carry Polish President Andrzej Duda to re-election earlier this month. Duda had campaigned against “LGBT ideology,” and much of his support came from southeast jurisdictions that had symbolically declared themselves “LGBT-free zones.”

But Duda’s victory was extremely narrow, and those who opposed it have mobilized in support of LGBT and feminist causes. Younger Poles in particular voted overwhelmingly against Duda’s platform of “traditional values.”

Such division helps explain why a government so recently validated by popular election could announce its plans to quit the Istanbul Convention and, in the span of one weekend, be forced to walk them back.

ShareTweet
Jonah Fox

Jonah Fox

Follow him @Jonah435

Related Posts

Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks at an event.
Democracy at Risk

Polish Writer Charged for Calling President Duda ‘Moron’

by Staff Writer
March 23, 2021
Senator Kamala Harris speaks during the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on June 25, 2020
Opinion

Want More Women in Leadership Roles? Focus on Their Strategy and Not Their Smile

by Jennifer Riekert and Ali Jackson-Jolley
September 18, 2020
In World First, Polish Pharmaceutical Company Produces Plasma-Derived COVID Drug
World

In World First, Polish Pharmaceutical Company Produces Plasma-Derived COVID Drug

by Anya Ruppert
August 18, 2020
Opposition leaders wearing rainbow colors to make a statement at Duda's swearing-in ceremony.
Democracy at Risk

Polish Opposition MPs Wear LGBTQ Flag in Protest Against President Duda

by Josephine Walker
August 6, 2020
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Featured

Europe’s East-West Divide: Tolerance With Authoritarian Characteristics

by Zsolt Enyedi
July 14, 2020
Polish President Andrzej Duda
Democracy at Risk

Populist President Duda Wins Re-Election in Poland

by Staff Writer
July 13, 2020
Next Post
Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), attends a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on "COVID-19 Response" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 4, 2020.

An Unforgiving Virus and the Silent CDC

Migrants waiting at the Turkish border.

Not Accepted: The Tale of an Iraqi Human Rights Activist in Turkey

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

Bao Choy

Hong Kong Journalist Convicted Over Public Database Searches

April 22, 2021
Derek Chauvin

Ex-Policeman Derek Chauvin Found Guilty of George Floyd’s Murder

April 21, 2021
Protestor holding a sign for Adam Toledo

Hey Mr. Policeman, Stop Killing Our Kids

April 21, 2021
Alexey Navalny turned his February 2 hearing into a blistering attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Navalny’s Doctors Denied Access as Kremlin Foe Is ‘Very Weak’

April 20, 2021
The UN chemical weapons watchdog could impose sanctions on Syria this week.

Syria Faces Sanctions at Chemical Weapons Watchdog

April 20, 2021
António Guterres

World Running Out of Time to Tackle Climate Crisis: UN

April 19, 2021

Opinion

Protestor holding a sign for Adam Toledo

Hey Mr. Policeman, Stop Killing Our Kids

April 21, 2021
A candlelight vigil in Garden Grove, California, after the shooting that left eight people dead in Atlanta, including six Asian women

American Nightmare: The Asian-American Experience

April 17, 2021
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson delivers a speech, 2016

The Hippocratic Oath Stops at the Arkansas Border

April 8, 2021
Erdogan Threatens to Open Europe Gates for Refugees

Turkey’s Latest Crackdown Spells Dangerous New Normal for Human Rights Defenders

March 29, 2021
President Biden speaks about the Colorado shootings at the White House.

US Gun Violence: Biden, You Need to Do Something. Now

March 26, 2021
COVID Stimulus Checks: Does Victory Include Abandoning the Most Vulnerable?

COVID Stimulus Checks: Does Victory Include Abandoning the Most Vulnerable?

March 25, 2021
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post