“The women’s movements have brought about a lot of changes in the interests of women. Nevertheless, March 8 is still not a day to celebrate this year,” said Ines Scheibe from the Executive Committee of the Humanist Association of Germany (HVD) today. On the occasion of International Women’s Day on Thursday, she began by pointing out that women continue to be underrepresented in decision-making bodies and management positions and earn significantly lower incomes on average. “Abortion is also still a criminal offense in Germany. But even the existing options for ending an unwanted pregnancy without punishment are repeatedly attacked, particularly by the Christian churches,” Scheibe noted. “All attempts to ostracize and criminalize women’s right to self-determination that still exist today are degrading and aim to incapacitate them,” continued Scheibe. “And the fact that the debate on this issue has been dominated by men and theologians in particular to this day clearly shows the sources of the injustices that still exist.” Ines Scheibe went on to say that in future there should be an increasing realization that the previous policy of promoting women alone was not sufficient to enable women to participate equally in all areas of society. Politicians and societies have still not succeeded in creating the basis for real emancipation from the traditional social imbalance to the detriment of women as part of a universal human rights concern, in order to eliminate central problems for the social situation and all disadvantages in terms of gender equality. She reminded humanists that the future could not promise any automatism that would guarantee steady progress. Scheibe predicted: “The effects of the global crisis will affect women more than men if social security systems are destroyed, wages reduced, pensions and employment promotion measures cut, taxes increased and healthcare, education and other areas of public services privatized. Not to mention the international phenomena such as an increase in hunger, thirst, war and destruction, modern forms of slave trade and forced prostitution.” She therefore argued that the equal rights of women and their social and political emancipation should not be lightly dismissed as a challenge that can be postponed, both nationally and internationally. Scheibe: “Women’s rights are not a task for better times, on the contrary. In all crises, we women suffer first alongside our children. And every measure to improve equal opportunities, social reflection on our dignity and equal participation contributes directly to improving every culture, peace and social cohesion.
Women from all cultures and of all faiths should therefore have an interest in this if they want to live a self-determined life free from patriarchal paternalism.” She therefore called on all women and progressively minded people in Germany not to give in to sedative statements and euphonious words of supposed appreciation from conservative milieus in society and their communities in blind hope. “Let us rather take this day as an impetus to stand up anew and consistently for a sustainable improvement of all possibilities for us, our daughters and the daughters of our daughters. Let us not submit to supposedly given or temporarily comfortable conditions, let us use our right to contradiction and resistance. Help us to eliminate the remnants of the old authoritarian and patriarchal mindset and shape a culture of fairness, freedom and genuine co-determination!”
