Europe | Poland | Politics

Women dominate Polish election, with 3 vying to lead country

Poland's upcoming general elections are making history by having three women campaigning to lead the nation, with one almost certain to win. But the appearance of major social change in this conservative nation may be slightly deceptive. Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz of the ruling Civic Platform is fighting to keep her job against a surging Beata Szydlo, who leads the conservative opposition party Law and Justice. The third woman candidate leads a cluster of leftwing groups, and is not considered a serious contender. The situation may seem startling in a nation known for traditional family v

Europe | Poland | Politics

Historic: Only women nominated for prime minister in Poland

Source: Pangea Today

The upcoming parliamentary elections in Poland are three weeks away but are already historic. For the first time ever, the three largest parties in the country have nominated women as their candidates for prime minister. Europe already has several countries where women are the political leaders – Germany, Norway, and Latvia. Still, in all of these cases, the women had a male opponent in the elections. In the first free election in Poland since World War Two in 1991, only 10 percent of all representatives chosen were women. This number has been growing steadily ever since and the last

Europe | Poland | Society

Poland increases child benefits to encourage more births

Source: Pangea Today

Poland is likely to experience a substantial decrease in births, according to sociologists. The country’s birth rate is 1.3 children per woman which is one of the lowest in all of Europe. In order to fight this negative trend, the government has decided to improve child benefits. From 2016 onwards, every Polish woman giving birth will receive 1,000 Polish zloty ($265) a month for one year. This will not depend on a person’s insurance status.

Europe | Poland | Crimes

Poland ratifies convention combating violence against women

Source: Rappler

Parties to Istanbul convention must 'prevent violence, protect its victims, prosecute perpetrators' Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski on Monday ratified a landmark European convention combatting violence against women, despite opposition from the country's powerful Catholic Church and his right-wing rival in the May presidential elections. Parties to the Istanbul convention have an obligation to "prevent violence, protect its victims, prosecute the perpetrators" and to provide adequate shelter to domestic violence victims. Over a dozen countries from across Europe have ratified th

Europe | Poland | Culture

Poland promotes equality, sends disabled singer to int’l contest

Source: Pangea Today

Poland selected Monika Kuszynska to represent the country in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. Eurovision, which launched the careers of ABBA, Celine Dion and Julio Iglesias, is one of the world’s most watched non-sporting event. It is an international song competition for countries in Europe, celebrating its 6th anniversary in 2015. It has an audience of 500 million viewers. Monika has been in a wheelchair since she was in a car accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down in 2006.