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Polish MPs donned clothes in the colors of the rainbow flag of the LGBTQ community in protest against Conservative President Andrzej Duda during his swearing-in ceremony in Warsaw.
This Thursday, August 6, Polish parliamentarians from the left wore bright and daring colors to take a stand against President Andrzej Duda and in support of the LGBTQ community during the second swearing-in of the Polish head of state. The latter was re-elected last month for another five-year term.
The ceremony in Warsaw comes just two months after Poland's conservative president sparked controversy by promising toprohibit same-sex couples from marrying or adopting children. "I am convinced that, by doing this, the safety of children and concern for the welfare of children will be ensured to a much greater extent. ", he said a few days before being re-elected. Andrzej Duda is also opposed to teaching LGBTQ issues in schools and said that people belonging to the LGBTQ community "are not people"but one "ideology"that he judges "more destructive"than communism.
According to a 2020 survey by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersexual Association (ILGA), Poland is the worst country in the European Union for gay rights. Indeed, Andrzej Duda's more centrist rival has also opposed adoption by same-sex couples. However, a group of MPs protested against the Polish president on Thursday wearing masks and outfits depicting the colors of the rainbow, posing defiantly in front of the Polish parliament building in solidarity with the LGBTQ community . The elected representatives were predominantly women, although the male MP, Maciej Kopiec, sported a bright orange blazer over his dark suit. "We wanted to remind President Andrzej Duda that … in the constitution there is a guarantee of equality for all ", left-wing MP Anna-Maria Żukowska told the New York Times adding that Andrzej Duda’s campaign had "dehumanized LGBT people by denying the right to be people".
The Globe Post reports that MPs decided to wear the bright colors to make it a more productive form of protest than boycotting the swearing-in ceremony. "We have decided to symbolically demonstrate our solidarity to people who live month by month in an atmosphere of increasing fear and insecurity in their own country.", can we read in a press release.
MP Wanda Nowicka, who wore a purple dress for the ceremony, also handed the president a letter calling for an end to his discriminatory campaign against LGBTQ people.