Warsaw:
Police detained several people, including a photo reporter, as women-led protests over abortion rights flared up again on Monday in Warsaw and elsewhere in Poland. The protests, organised by the group Women’s Strike, have been occurring regularly ever since the country’s constitutional court issued an October 22 ruling that further tightens an abortion law that was already one of the most restrictive in Poland.
The protests have also come to encompass other grievances against both the Catholic church and the conservative ruling party, including the detentions of people taking part in the demonstrations. On Monday, protesters blocked traffic in Warsaw while others gathered in front of the Education Ministry building in an expression of solidarity with teachers who have been threatened with financial and disciplinary reprisals by the education minister for supporting the women-led protests.
Several people also strapped themselves to the ministry gate and hung a banner reading, “Free abortion and free education.”.
