A flower and a kiss are the typical customs for Poles on International Women's Day (8 March). However, many women in Poland also use this date as a time to speak out on the most important issues of Women's Rights through marches across the country. These marches, known in Polish as manifa are organized by gender equality groups and take place in many cities in Poland, though the largest takes place in Warsaw. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the Polish manifa marches, as well as the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day.
On Sunday 7 March, thousands of feminists and activists marched through the city centre of Warsaw under this year's slogan of "Solidarne w kryzysie, solidarne w walce", which can be roughly translated as "Solidarity in the crisis, solidarity in the fight".
The slogan refers to the continued struggles of women in the area of economy and in the workplace. In Poland, as in many other European countries, women are still paid on average 20 per cent lower than men for the same job. The activists at the manifa protests also referred to the need for childcare and maternity leave in order for women to better balance their responsibilities in the family and workplace.
As with the annual gay pride parades (referred to more often as "tolerance" parades in Poland), the manifa march in Warsaw faced opposition. A group of protesters from the nationalist All-Polish Youth and Falanga party were joined by a group of anti-abortion protesters. The anti-abortion groups compared abortion to the crimes of Hitler, and the fascist groups went even further with their slogan "Yesterday Hitler, today Feminists".
Clearly gender equality still has a way to go in Poland, but with numbers growing every year at the manifa marches, things can only get better.
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