Recently in Iran women came under scrutiny for dress styles deemed unIslamic. Citizens were even threatened with arrest for 'offenses' ranging from wearing loose fitting hijabs to short pants that revealed too much skin. Men were also targeted for outlandish hairdos and the crime of walking a dog.

This is the type of morality policing we have come to expect from Ahmadinejad's regime. However, crackdowns of this sort aren't exclusive to the Islamic world. Poland is also attempting to turn back the clock, with reactionary elements in government and society engaged in what can only be described as a war with secular culture.

A Polish legislator recently demanded a ban on mini skirts and other "enticements". This was presented as an effort to crackdown on street prostitution, but it is really part of the larger culture war. Artur Zawisza, a noted reactionary and member of Prawica Rzeczypolpoliteij (Right of the Republic Party), went further and called for a ban on "heavy make-up" and see through garments. If this type of draconian social legislation is ever passed into law, it could easily allow for the targeting of any young woman with a dress style deemed to be an "enticement" or in other ways a contravention of public dress standards.

The reactionary climate in Poland began to gather steam after the election of PM Jaroslav Kaczynski - the Law and Justice Party candidate. After the entry of Poland into the EU, many observers hoped for a move toward democratic standards of tolerance, but progressive developments in Poland (and there are many), have been overshadowed by a lurch to the right with its revivalist mix of ultra-nationalism and religious zealotry.

The Roman Catholic League of Polish Families and Polish Self-Defense Party are in the vanguard of this conservative revival. Attacks on homosexuality, abortion and womens' rights are part of a platform that also includes a virulent strain of anti-semitism. In common with conservative family values organizations in the US, League spokespersons have stated their opposition to evolution, in favor of the teaching of creationism.

Chairman of the League and deputy PM, Roman Giertych, was responsible for tabling a bill that was so anti-gay it created an international uproar and protests from human rights organizations. Included was the provision that any individual who reveals their homosexuality or "other sexual deviation" in scholastic establishments, should be subject to a fine, dismissal or imprisonment.

We recently heard more of the same from PM Kaczynski who has proposed firing teachers for "homosexual propaganda". He even went so far as to say that it wasn't in the interests of society to have more gay people. This is ironical coming from Kaczynski, who himself is suspected in some circles of being a closet homosexual. In fact a major Polish newspaper, Rzeczpospolita, published documents that were leaked from Polish Secret Police sources that explicitly discussed Kacynski's sexuality and his single status. The strident anti-homosexual rhetoric of Kaczynski has prompted the Shakespearean conjecture that perhaps "he doth protest too much".

Despite Jaroslav Kaczynski's claim that anti-semitism has never been at a lower level in Poland, it has in fact been making a comeback in the public sphere. League MEP, Maciej Giertych, published a blatantly anti-semitic pamphlet paid for by the European parliament and issued under its logos, titled Civilizations at War in Europe. It suggested that the Jews create their own "ghettos" by virtue of choosing to live apart, and contended that "anti-semitism is not racism".

This attitude is mirrored to some extent in the culture that is being nurtured in organizations such as Mlodziez Wszechpolska, the All-Polish Youth. Members of this youth organization have been photographed giving the straight armed Hitler-type salute and are referred to as "brown shirts" by opponents. The 1989 manifesto of All-Polish Youth declares that the organization is opposed to "doctrines promoting liberalism, tolerance, and relativism." A sentiment likely to warm the cockles of Pope Benedict's heart.

Anti-semitic commentary isn't limited to extremist pamphleteering. The ultraconservative Roman Catholic media outlet, Radio Maryja, at times engages in commentary that Polish Jews have found to be degrading. Crude Jewish caricatures have on occasion been evoked on call-in shows along with references such as "the men from Judea" and "the Jewish fifth column". A newspaper often targeted by Radio Mayja callers is Gazeta Wyborcza which has a number of Jewish journalists on staff. It's no coincidence that the lack of official action taken to censor Radio Maryja, has much to do with the fact that the founder of the station, Tadeusz Rydzk, was a big supporter of the Kaczynski brothers during the last elections.

The European parliament should take more assertive steps to check this reactionary trend in Poland. They have already moved in this direction. After the recent rhetoric aimed at homosexuals, the assembly asked the EU's anti-racism center to investigate what it described as "the emerging climate of racist, xenophobic and homophobic intolerance in Poland," and to assess whether anti-discrimination laws were being violated.

About the Author

Aidan Maconachy is a freelance writer and artist based in Ontario. You can visit his blog at http://aidanmaconachyblog.blogspot.com/