An Interview with Anna Grodzka
Norma Costello | 7th December 2011
http://www.krakowpost.com/article/2648"My election proves that people are ready for change"
It's easy to feel you are in a time warp walking the history-steeped streets of Krakow. The masses of dowdy pensioners, students clinging to battered leather satchels and the many young monks and nuns give the impression of a city guided by tradition and, more importantly, by the cloth.
It seems an unlikely background for the emergence of Ruch Palikota (Polikot's Movement), a political party known for its liberal aims and unconventional candidates, but in October the city elected Anna Grodzka – now the world's only serving, transgender parliamentarian – as one of its 13 representatives in the Sejm.
[...]
Grodzka also lobbies for the rights of transgender people in Poland. "We have an NGO called Trans-Fuzja that lobbies for legal solutions for transgender people in Poland and seeks to change the social stereotypes that exist here. The understanding of the problem is very limited. We help people actualize their gender through legal aid and psychological support. Transgender people who are isolated often commit suicide, unfortunately I have been affected by this personally. The transgender group has the highest rate of suicide out of the LGBT demographic. Life doesn't have to be like this. Since I have started to live in my gender, I feel like I'm finally flying after years of living underground."
