Magdalena Środa

Who is Magdalena Środa?

Magdalena Środa is a Polish philosopher, professor of ethics at the University of Warsaw, and a feminist author. She is also a columnist for the "Gazeta Wyborcza". She was government's Plenipotentiary for the Equal Status of Women and Men in the cabinet of Marek Belka between August 16, 2004 and November 4, 2005.

In 1980s Magdalena Środa was active in Solidarność movement. After 1989 she would not be involved in politics until 2004, when she was appointed by PM Marek Belka as the government's Plenipotentiary for the Equal Status of Women and Men. She has been advocating the separation of State and Church, LGBT rights, and more liberal abortion law. She is also known for her consistently anti-war stance on foreign policy.

In December 2004 there was a controversy over Środa's statement during an international conference on honour killings in Stockholm. When asked about the situation in Poland, she told Reuters: "Catholicism does not directly support or oppose violence against women. But there are indirect links through culture which is strongly based on religion". These words were widely quoted in Polish media and sparked a public discussion about violence against women.