All illustrations by Krystyna Engelmayer-Urbańska (@engelmayer)
For SLEEK #67 we had the opportunity to sit down with international supermodel, entrepreneur and activist Anja Rubik and popular singer and songwriter activist Mary Komasa, two women at the forefront of the new feminist movement in Poland, a country currently fighting political and cultural division.
Like much of the recent wave of feminist upheaval, their direct approach doesn’t wait for permission from second-wave feminist dogma, nor does it hold its breath for performative legislative change. Instead, they have utilised social media to represent, curate and make demands that have mobilised thousands of Poland’s politically conscious, young and energised citizens with a seismographic grasp of what the individuals making up a critical mass need to see and hear.
These are, to say the least, tumultuous times for Poland’s female and LGBTQ+ demographics. How have two activists, collaborators and friends grappled with the unrest taking over their home country?
Mary Komasa: I have to tell you, I’m so tired after last night. I was crying all evening. For four weeks people have been protesting on the streets of Poland against the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling that outlaws abortion in the case of severe and irreversible fetal impairment. And yesterday, for the first time, the police were very brutal towards the protesters. You can see it all over the Polish news. People surrounded by the police, not able to get away, the police shouting at them, pushing them, using tear gas.
Anja Rubik: There are moments where I feel completely hopeless and powerless. It’s absolutely heartbreaking what is happening in Poland at the moment, after all, we have faced over the last 100 years…the lessons learned…we find ourselves here. A woman’s right to choose is the litmus test for a healthy, progressive society. This moment in time will affect the Polish community for decades to come. The thing that I find most disturbing, is the reaction of the political figures in our country to what is happening. Instead of trying to calm the situation down, instead of uniting us, listening to us, they’re dividing the country even more. Yesterday, the head of the party in power [the right-wing nationalist Law and Justice party, led by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki] made a public statement in which he mocked the ‘women strikes’.
MK But I see the light at the end of the tunnel. My generation is the first one that started feeling uncomfortable in church. I grew up in a very Catholic family, my parents are both Catholic. None of my siblings go to church. We are not religious at all. And I think we are the first generation–people born in the Eighties and early Nineties – that don’t go to church every Sunday. I am mentioning this because the church in Poland is pushing for the total ban on abortion; they are also supporting violence against the LGBTQ+ community. The State has bowed down to the power of the church and there is no [longer any] separation between [them].
AR Young people are aware, they’re educated. They know what they are fighting for. They don’t need to be interested in politics to know what is happening, they can see how the country is changing around them. They’ve lost confidence in political institutions. They reject oppression and stereotypes.
I also realised that it’s impossible to build a healthy, tolerant, equal society without sex education. How is it practically possible to imagine a healthy community where we don’t teach our children about their bodies, their personal boundaries, consent and safe sex?
So where do you see your abilities to influence and participate as individuals who are part of this movement, especially at a time when gathering and being together physically is just not an option? What is it you feel you are able to do?
AR: Well, I think what is important is to stay connected, pass on verified information, support [each other] as much as possible, empower people, make them realise that they aren’t alone, that the world is watching. Social media is a powerful tool to [help] do that. Also creating projects, educating, offering real help is the way to move forward.
In 2017 I started my foundation on sex education, www.sexed.pl. We do a lot of good stuff in Poland. We are a safe platform for everyone. Our mission is to educate, support and help society [with] various subjects connected to sex education, such as sexuality, safe sex, contraception, tolerance and consent. We help hundreds of people every single week through private online sessions with psychologists and sexologists. We publish educational content weekly; we release campaigns and organise projects that raise awareness, fight stigma and break taboos.
It all started four years ago when I spoke at the protests against the total ban of abortion and the proposal to criminalise anyone seeking an abortion. That is when I started to realise that a lot of things in my country are completely absurd. That the same people that want a full abortion ban are also the ones that are trying to prohibit sex education – the only real way to prevent unwanted pregnancies. I learnt that sex education is practically non-existent in Poland: that more than half of all 18-year-olds cannot answer basic questions around their reproductive system; that we are the worst country in Europe – not just the European Union – when it comes to the access to contraception; that STIs are on the rise; and that there is no real understanding of consent.
I already knew that I didn’t have any sex education at school but I always assumed that things had changed throughout the years. I also realised that it’s impossible to build a healthy, tolerant, equal society without sex education. How is it practically possible to imagine a healthy community where we don’t teach our children about their bodies, their personal boundaries, consent and safe sex? When I understood all this, I felt the need to do something about it. That is how Sexed.pl started and since then it has grown into a thriving movement and educational platform.
It’s important to act! Do things… Mary started something very powerful a few weeks ago on her Instagram page. She filmed short, comic sketches that supported and motivated people to fight for their rights.
MK: It turned out that people are in need of this type of content. Humour and laughter help me on a daily basis to manage my fears and my sadness around what is happening in Poland. A few days into the protests I thought, “OK, I’m done with crying, I need to cheer myself up.”
I started filming short, satirical sketches in which I pretend that the government is calling me, telling me to stop the marches, to be obedient, be a good girl and shut up… and I simply tell them to “fuck off”. The films became a sensation, people started filming their own versions, I received tons of messages saying “thank you so much for doing this, it’s helping us survive”.
This interview originally appeared in #SLEEK67, which is available now both in print and digital editions.
Credits
Collages: Krystyna Engelmayer-Urbanska