Nowadays, the stereotype of the Neanderthal man with a face showing no signs of intelligence, more akin to an ape than a human, still persists. His slouched posture bears a strong resemblance to a chimpanzee holding firmly onto a club with one hand. This representation has permeated the culture and the term Neanderthal is still used as an insult for the uncultured and less clever. Thanks to the development of science and modern technology, we are now uncovering an increasingly large amount of secrets kept hidden by our ancestors. We can already create their portraits and attempt to reconstruct their way of life. Particularly interesting is research disproving the stereotypes about prehistoric women.

The hilly region of eastern Slovenia, with its wide river valleys and narrow tributaries, was the area where the cemeteries of the Urnfield culture such as Ruše and Pobrežje were discovered. They have shaped our understanding of the material culture and chronology of the Late Bronze Age. Since their discovery, the cemeteries in eastern Slovenia have been included in major discussions about the cultural characteristics of the phenomenon that encompassed large parts of Europe at the end of the second millennium BCE. A phenomenon that, due to the almost universal burial rite and nearly total absence of wealthy burials, triggered numerous assumptions about the society structure and the religious foundations of observable practices. Perhaps most fascinating was the discovery of grave 16, the resting place of a high-status woman.

One of the stories presented in the Bible concerns the first human beings — a man and a woman. He was created from the dust of the earth and she was made from his rib. In the Garden of Eden, they enjoyed undisturbed equality, but the original sin they committed brought with it irreversible changes. A number of stereotypes about women in the biblical tradition were established over the years. As it turns out, they were strong and courageous, faithful and loving but also cunning and ruthless.

The ground-breaking 19th century set civilisation on a new track, known as the age of steam and electricity, and imposed a pace of development never before experienced by humankind. An avalanche of discoveries and inventions resulted in rapid industrial and economic growth. Although the explosion of knowledge and progress took over the globe, half of the population, i.e. women, invariably remained under the special protection of men, resembling children with special needs under the laws of the time.

Ananda Devi is the most important contemporary Mauritian writer, author of more than a dozen novels, and several collections of short stories and poetry, currently living in France and writing in French. She considers herself first and foremost a humanist writer. Since women are more likely to be victims of violence, many of her works feature protagonists who are rejected and wounded and have little chance of escaping their suffering. After all, where should those living in Mauritius — a small island of volcanic origin surrounded by an endless ocean — escape to?

Art used to be a tool to flaunt power, an ornament in the hands of wealthy elites, a synonym for luxury, and a show of social status. Similarly, women in old art had a clearly defined role — they were a motif, an iconographic reference to the idea of beauty or function (a mother, a saint, or a lover). In earlier eras, only male members of society were allowed to engage in education and creative endeavours. Women were not allowed to study at the academies of fine arts in Poland nearly until the end of World War I, as their ability to take on the great tasks of high art was questioned.

When we think about how the Labour Code protects women, the first thing that comes to mind is the provisions related to maternity, i.e. the possibility to take maternity, parental, or childcare leave. And indeed, Polish legislation protects mothers to a very high degree. In addition, the code precisely specifies which jobs women absolutely cannot perform. Of course, there is also a provision in the Code on the need for equal treatment by employers irrespective of a range of characteristics, including gender, but this is a more complicated issue.

Poland’s abortion law is among the most restrictive in Europe. The decision to tighten it up led to the largest protests since the fall of communism in 1989. To offer a fair explanation of the so-called Women’s Strike, we first need to look back at how the abortion law in Poland changed over the years.

How is it possible that a virgin queen, who was unable to fly out of the hive for her first and only mating flight, laid unfertilised eggs? What’s more: viable males, i.e. drones, hatched from the eggs. This was the question that Rev. Jan Dzierżon, a beekeeper living at the turn of the 20th century, an enthusiast and inventor of the prototype of the modern hive, had to ask himself when he first observed virgin birth in bees. We now know that natural parthenogenesis (virgin birth) is observed not only in insects and many other invertebrates but also in fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. It does not occur in mammals, although, as experiments have shown, it can be artificially induced in mice, but not yet in humans.

Since the early days of the convention, science fiction writers have been primarily interested in science and technology as well as their impact on individuals and societies in the near or distant future — that is, a world that has not yet materialised. Women have not been the main focus of their reflections. Science fiction is a stereotypically male convention and the absence of women, especially in the first stages of its development, is due to a few specific reasons.