Kształtowanie tożsamości politycznej kobiet w Polsce
The Forming of Women’s Political Identity in Poland

Author(s): Joanna Regulska
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Sociology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: interdisciplinarity; women’s rights; equal status; political identity
Summary/Abstract: In this paper I attempt to analyze the formation of women’s political identity in Poland after 1989 – what is possible and indeed necessary in order to act towards changing the image of a politically active woman, a woman who votes and acts in the public sphere. At the same time, I stress the importance of women activists as well as researchers and politicians in overcoming institutional, political, social, economic and cultural barriers. I show that efforts to establish feminist research methods and thus enhance women’s empowerment are an integral part of the strategy to fight for women’s rights and achieve equal treatment of women and men. I show that comprehensive, interdisciplinary and intersectional approaches, applied both in practice and in theory, must become the basis of the struggle for women’s rights. At the same time, action is needed to make society aware that women have a political identity, that they are fighting for their rights, for gender equality and equal treatment, for reproductive rights, for equal pay, and for new approaches to electoral rights that would ensure that more women are placed on the electoral lists. Forming a political identity is a long, often convoluted process that is never straightforward. Professor Małgorzata Fuszara knows best how to act both in academia and politics, as well as how to be an activist. Her contributions are invaluable, as she was able to put her vision of intersectionality into practice.

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