Women Converge on Warsaw, Heightening Poland’s Largest Protests in Decades

WARSAW — Ignoring the threat of prosecution and the dangers posed by a surge of coronavirus cases, tens of thousands of women outraged by a court decision to ban nearly all abortions in Poland converged in Warsaw on Friday, intensifying what have been the largest demonstrations in the country since the fall of communism in 1989.

With a musical medley that included Darth Vader’s theme from Star Wars, in a poke at the government, and techno music blaring over loudspeakers, crowds of women flooded the streets of the capital. Many of the women had the red lightning bolt that has become the iconic image of the movement emblazoned on their clothes, as the police and military security officers flanked them as they marched.

They were joined by thousands of men and a wide array of groups who believe that the hard-won freedoms of the post-communist era are slipping away under the rule of the increasingly autocratic Law and Justice Party.

Friday’s protests were the culmination of a week of large-scale demonstrations, with the police estimating that 430,000 people attended more than 400 demonstrations around the country on Wednesday.

While the protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful, Friday’s march brought a major police presence to the streets of Warsaw amid concerns that violence could break out with right-wing activists.