Equal rights require societies based on solidarity

“Women who have a serious interest in securing female emancipation cannot ignore this at any time when it comes to the fundamental questions of how to achieve equal rights,” said Wolf. A society in which relations between the sexes are fair and based on solidarity is not feasible without an economic and social framework that places a high value on fairness and solidarity between people. It was not only the beliefs of the monotheistic religions that were a major reason why progress in the struggle to secure equal and dignified living conditions for women was very slow and there were repeated setbacks, Wolf continued. “Where the primacy of radical competition between individuals, the belief in social Darwinist ideas, the concept of man as homo oeconomicus or the completely free market are dominant, the emancipation of women will not be able to prevail even if many people no longer adhere to the ideas of patriarchal religions.” Even a society that is comprehensively secularized cannot guarantee that gender equality will be realized and secured on the basis of this characteristic alone. “Paternalism, disenfranchisement, disrespect and degrading reduction to a material commodity cannot be avoided in the long term if it is not understood as part of a holistic political task. Women of all faiths who want to secure sustainable liberation from discrimination and violence for themselves, their sisters and daughters, granddaughters and friends should never ignore the effects of unleashed capitalism and excessive selfishness on societies as a whole.” Women, children and minorities are not only the first victims in crises, he reminded the audience. Wolf went on to say that an equal position for women in society can only be achieved and secured in the future through long-term commitment. In his view, it is extremely important that competing efforts do not lose sight of the importance of cooperation and solidarity. “If the humanist goal of liberating women from gender-based dependency and patriarchal oppression is to succeed, broad alliances and prudent cooperation with all people who are interested in improving our conditions and who are not women remain indispensable.”