Andrzej Sebastian Duda (born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as president of Poland since 6 August 2015. Before becoming president, Andrzej Duda was a member of Polish Lower House (Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and the European Parliament from 2014 to 2015.
Poland's Trans Citizens Fear They'll Become Target of the Right
With support for gays and lesbians on the rise in Poland, the country’s transgender citizens fear they'll be a major target of the right wing ahead of next year’s parliamentary election.
The same day in June that Warsaw held its Pride celebration, the chair of the conservative Law and Justice party, Jarosław Kaczyński, met with voters in the nearby town of Włocławek to voice his disdain for trans people, The Guardian reports.“We have elementary knowledge in biology, we know that gender is determined at the level of chromosomes. … In extreme cases, an operation must be performed, but this does not mean that after this operation a man will be a woman and a woman will be a man,” he said.He taunted the crowd, making a point to look at his watch, saying, “It’s now half past 5; before I was a man but now I’m a woman.”Kaczyński has touched on the subject several times since, poking fun at name changes and calling trans people “abnormal.” He also insulted Poland’s first trans member of Parliament, Anna Grodzka.The Polish government has attacked the LGBTQ+ community on several past occasions, with the country’s president, Andrzej Duda, running a successful reelection campaign two years ago based on anti-queer rhetoric.
He is a member of Law and Justice.Recently, polls have shown growing acceptance for gay people in Polish society, which trans activists believe will make them the next target for the party.
Trans author Maja Heban told The Guardian that Kaczyński’s June remarks amount to “workshopping” material for upcoming campaigns.Polish politician Krzysztof Śmiszek added that “homophobia doesn’t resonate the way it used to” with Polish society.
