Speaking over the weekend in Zakopane, a tourist town of 27,000 in southern Poland, Marta Lempart, one of the leaders of the Polish Women’s Strike movement, highlighted the importance of mobilising outside the main urban centres and in the more rural areas where the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party derives most of its support.

“While PiS is terrified on many levels now, what they are most terrified with is not the fact that there were 200,000 people protesting in Warsaw last Friday,” Lempart told the Zakopane protesters. “Trust me, they are watching what’s happening in the places where they thought nothing would happen and they are terrified. When they look at you – not at us – they immediately start consulting at [the PiS headquarters of] Nowogrodzka.”

Many of the women (and men) taking to the streets across Poland over the last 20 days have been young, often high school or university age. This means that while it’s still unclear what the movement will achieve in the short term – the Constitutional Tribunal verdict on banning abortion has so far not been published, but could appear at any time – many agree that what we’re witnessing in Poland is the manifestation of a cultural revolution: the younger generations are turning their back on the nationalist-Catholic narrative of this government, defining the Poland they want to live in, and learning the importance of being politically engaged to achieve change.

Over the last few days, BIRN interviewed a number of young women who have been protesting across Poland, to see how they perceive the events that are unfolding in their country. Below we put some voices to the faces.

Dominika Mazur. Photo: courtesy of Dominika

Dominika Mazur, 17, high school student, Warsaw

“None of this looks like I imagined. When I was younger and I was watching American movies about high school, all I had in my head was parties, hanging out with my friends and just living my best life. Right now, I have to get out onto the streets to fight for my basic rights. This is not how I imagined, how I wanted this to be.

“All of this started as a protest against the abortion ban. But right now it isn’t really just about that; now it’s also about overthrowing the government.

“Being on a protest is an amazing experience because, first of all, you feel this huge support from all these people. There were thousands of people around me and I knew they were here for the same reason that I was: to get our basic rights back.

“On the other hand, though, there were people ‘protecting the church’, people hitting or assaulting everyone: men, women, teenagers, children and old people – no one was safe. They would throw firecrackers or flares into the crowd, either to hurt or to cause mass panic. No one was safe. Because for those people the only thing that counts is to pursue tradition and, I guess, for them tradition means being stuck in medieval times. Let’s see how long it will take before they make us wear chastity belts. Talking about all this with humour is my coping mechanism, but I am afraid of living in Poland. I’m really, really afraid.

“As Cotton Jones sang: ‘You know I’m the changer, the rearranger’. Hopefully, the change we make now will remain for future generations.”

Zuzanna Karcz. Photo: courtesy of Zuzanna

Zuzanna Karcz, 18, high-school student, Sosnowiec

“This is probably the first time I have seen this many people of my age group taking to the streets, openly saying that they are not satisfied with the way things are. We care about human rights, especially our freedom of choice – no matter where we come from and who we are in our daily lives. I believe this will never change.

“Currently, we, as Generation Z, are facing a massive responsibility. As there are no actual leaders of the young generation, I believe we are witnessing a kind of free-for-all that is extremely powerful.

“In my opinion, this is a huge leap for youth activism and one that we’ve been waiting for and expecting: young people have been engaging in both online protests and taking to the streets more than ever before. That is one of the reasons I decided to create the activist group ‘Nowa Fala Aktywizmu’ [New Wave of Activism] with my friends, so that those who feel the need to change the world can access wider knowledge on how to actually achieve it.

“We are obviously being heard and some heroines are being portrayed as the main voices of the protest, but I am in fact terrified that, once we get photographed and described as ‘the young revolutionaries’, we won’t be treated as seriously as we could be. Most of the journalists seem to be surprised, discovering that we are doing more than just screaming.”

Anna, 21, physics student, small town near Warsaw

Anna declined to make more information about herself public, because the Polish authorities have announced they intend to prosecute protest organisers.

Last week, the police wrote up a 14-year old girl from Olstyn in northern Poland, whom they claimed was leading the 2,000-strong demonstration taking place there on November 2, later asking a court to rule on whether the girl’s alleged role in organising the protest meant she was ‘deprived’. The court refused to pursue the case. Young activists, especially in smaller places, say they have felt intimidated by the police.

“When it comes to the younger generation, not all young people are as progressive as you might think. There is just a greater probability that a member of the younger generation is more progressive – this is mainly because young people know that not everything said on TV is true and they know it’s important not to rely on one source of information – especially one owned by the government.

“People have just had enough of the many scandals involving the present ruling party. Now young – and surprisingly many older, even elderly – people are demanding the current government step down.

“Poland is now polarised like it has never been before. You can see on Facebook people who adhere to the right-wing view, saying things like: ‘We should reopen Auschwitz and gas gays, communists, feminists and other freaks.’ Today, I got to know that there is a banner in a town near me saying ‘Miejsce lewicy jest na szubienicy’ [Leftists belong on the gallows]. A group of protesters I know personally was attacked by a right-wing militia a week ago. They were pepper-sprayed and beaten with thick sticks. Even a girl who was protesting there, just holding a banner that infuriated the militia, was attacked.

“Personally, I think these protests are doomed. As long as the ruling party has the backing of at least half of the population and, most importantly, the backing of the military, they can ignore the protests.”

Gosia Miszczak. Photo: courtesy of Gosia

Gosia Miszczak, 22, student, from Czestochowa, now living in Warsaw

“There are many young women and men on the streets, and I believe this is coming from a weariness with Poland being ruled alternatively by two parties [PiS and main opposition Civic Coalition] who have nothing to offer the youth.

“It’s also connected to the fact that our generation is no longer subordinate to the Catholic Church and their interference in the law-making environment are particularly upsetting for us.

“Young Polish women are ever more self-confident and aware of their rights and of the patriarchal norms which rule society.

“I really like this slogan from the demonstrations: ‘When my state does not defend me, I will be defending my sisters’. When the state is not ensuring security for us, what we can do is to protect one another and surround each other with care. This is happening thanks to grassroots organisations such as Aborcyjny Dream Team [Abortion Dream Team], which help women to access abortion pills or the day-after pill for example. This slogan is especially relevant in times of a pandemic, when we need solidarity because the government is not responding properly to the crisis in many sectors, it just adds to the chaos, instead of exercising leadership during the crisis and implementing appropriate systematic solutions.

“When I was 18, I helped organise a demonstration in Czestochowa during the 2016 Black Protests. I was moved by the fact that women of all ages spoke out – mothers, girls who had been raped. I felt pride and gratitude for being a woman and for the fact that we are powerful and brave, and that we can mount resistance when we are being hurt.”

Diana Cukrowska (R). Photo: courtesy of Diana

Diana Cukrowska, 22, journalism student, Warsaw

Before replying to questions, Diana sends a song that has the chorus, “For them, you are only cattle”, as a way to explain how young people feel living in the PiS-ruled Poland of today.

“We grew up in the shadow of everything that happened during PRL [communist Poland], this energy and mindset of fighting for your rights and never giving up on your voice always surrounded us. And now my generation has the chance to show that same spirit in a way that we never could before.

“We have had reason to take to the streets before, but we chose to go to a bar and discuss it with our friends, instead of showing to the government and media what we are against. But now we have the opportunity to protest.

“It’s really good this has happened: now we are all the time calling or texting each other, saying ‘come with me to protest’. It has shown me how we are able to be very mature, feel what is right, and come together as one.

“In Poland, there is no such thing as the law, it’s all about what [PiS leader Jaroslaw] Kaczynski thinks. The worst part is that women are just figures to play with in his games. I think this is the reason why so many people – old, my parents, young – are coming together, because we realise it’s not just about the abortion law, but about how this government regards women.

“This protest might dwindle over time, but it has made a huge difference to my generation’s perspective on politics: we are now more engaged and more a part of it. I think, because of that, we are going to be more engaged in the next round of voting. We are realising now that our voice is really important – this is the biggest lesson for us.”