I am a feminist
I feel sorry for Polish women. Although they live on average eight years longer than Poles, their pensions are much lower than those of men. According to ZUS, in 2020, the average pension for women in Poland was PLN 2,002 and was lower by one third than the average pension for men, which was PLN 2,992.
There is also no equality in salaries. Polish women receive significantly less money for the same work, despite generally being better educated. According to the Central Statistical Office, in 2018 the average salary of a Polish woman was PLN 4,560 and was 17% lower than the average salary of a Polish man, which was PLN 5,464.
There is a great gender inequality in relation to work at home, which some men, but also women, say is a "natural calling for women", and children who are asked "what does your mother do" sometimes answer "mother does nothing, but she is often tired". According to a 2006 report as part of the "Information and Education Campaign for the Appreciation of Women's Domestic Work", the time spent daily on housework and household chores by people in relationships with children under the age of 6 was on average 6 hours and 58 minutes for women and 2 hours and 47 minutes for men.
Gender inequality is most visible in Polish families. According to statistics from the Police Headquarters, in 2020, the number of women suspected of being affected by violence was 62,866, and men 10,922; the number of women suspected of using domestic violence was 6,677, and men 66,198; the number of women suspected of using domestic violence under the influence of alcohol was 1,986, and men 37,781.
We are therefore a country where women have it much worse than men, a country that discriminates against women, and where many women experience domestic violence.
This is how men arranged it, introducing patriarchy centuries ago, which has become woven into our tradition, history and culture, becoming something so natural and obvious that we cannot imagine it being any other way.
The main architect of this patriarchal world, and today its greatest guarantor and defender, is the Catholic Church, which is entrenched in its medieval views on the role of women and is unwilling to do anything to even slightly improve their fate, for example by systematically condemning domestic violence during Sunday sermons.
"Equal rights of women and men to education, employment and promotion, to equal pay for work of equal value, to social security and to occupy positions, perform functions and receive public dignities and decorations" are written into the constitution and we pretend that this equality applies.
Our politicians, especially the current ones, have this equality in deep disregard. They say how much they respect women and how much they care about their issues, and at the same time they are trying to have Poland withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, which provides tools for protection against domestic violence, because they found a mythical "gender" in its content.
The origins of feminism date back to the French Revolution. Thanks to the determination and dedication of many brave women, the world is a completely different place today, but there is still a long way to go to achieve full and true equality.
I am a feminist.
