The following is a set of pictures from the abortion protests of Warsaw, that took place on Friday, 2020/10/30. This was the biggest protest, in the series that started when the Polish Constitutional Tribunal made a ruling to change the abortion law on 2020/10/22. The protests tried (and ultimately failed) to achieve a change in the proposed new law before it got formally published.
This was the first time I went to take pictures at a protest and to be honest I was completely mesmerized by all the different signs that people made by hand or printed. Thus most of the pictures are showing these signs. Since many of them are in Polish it might be more difficult for people to understand, but I tried to explain some things in the captions. Also since the demonstrations happened during the global pandemic, at a time when vaccines were not available yet, I think it’s important to mention that the images reflect how busy this event really was. People set aside their anxiety and gathered to show support for the cause they believe in.
A sign alluding to the Bob Marley song “No women, no cry”. Kraj the Polish word for “country” is pronounced almost exactly like “cry” in English. Protesters climbing onto the roof of the bus stop to hold their sign higher than anyone else. A sign showing a female hand with the word “dość” meaning “enough” tattooed on the fingers, with the Palace of Culture and Science, the most iconic building in Warsaw in the background. A sign using the image of Princess Leia and vulgarry asking the governing party, PiS to leave.
A sign predicting the horoscope for the day with the censored version of the words “jebać PiS” that became the most commonly said words during the protests. People supporting the demonstration from their homes while it’s passing under their windows
Continue to the next protest here
