“I’m speaking to the murderers of women because I know that they will hear and see us. Stop lying,” said Marta Lempart, stressing every word into the microphone. Then she began to raise her voice. “The right to health and life is not a matter of worldview.” Referring to the Icelandic women’s strike, she thundered: “Let’s give them a Black Monday. I am calling for a strike on 3 October 2016.”
Such an uncompromising voice had not been heard before during a demonstration in Poland. But it was a reflection of our mood. Women had been waiting for such a tone. Lempart added, resolutely: “We are not afraid. Murderers of women, you think it will last forever. That you will always be in power. That you can do whatever you want to us. We’ll see! We’ll see! We’ll make you have a Black Monday! And then the next one, and then another one! Until the very end, the end of us or you!”
There was no fear in her voice, just an open declaration of war. The strike was planned to take place in one week’s time, on a working day. This was also a novelty in Poland. The action was called the Polish Women’s Strike. It quickly and unexpectedly turned into a spontaneous, feminist civic movement of an anti-government nature. And each of us had her own personal motivation for joining.
