Feminist Fights against Fascists
Speeches during demonstration of Feminist Strike Comitee Aux
Town Hall Square
Feminist Strike Committee Aux
So and now once again: hello and welcome to the 08th of march, which is the day of
the international feminist fight day. Wordwide are Flinta*s today at the streets – against discrimination, sexual violence, and structural sexism.
We all stand together against capitalism exploitation, and against the existing chance inequality. This year our motto stands for “antifascism is just possible with feminism”! Because feminism striking means – and always was meant – to put action against all kinds of inequality.
We are standing here, because we are keep going to reach equality for all human beings. The reason is feminism has an impact of everybody as well as the fight against the right-wing is a topic, which touches us all. In all parts of Germany is the motto of today “Feminists fights now”. Today it’s more important than ever, that we stand all together for our feminist ideals and move towards our feminist utopia.
At this demonstration there will be different speech contributions of various groups, which are the speech parts are separated into four speech blocks. You will hear different perspectives and the speeches show, how all of us, who are speaking up today to you, are in solidarity against the right-wing and meanwhile fighting for justice.
What they also will show, are the various forms of discrimination and at the same time how Inequality affects each other. Additionally, the contributions explain why there is such a need of acting now together. To achieve the goal or better say reach the mission to overcome/conquer the existing climate of hate and fission (“Us against the others”).
Us, the feminist strike committee Augsburg, call all humans and especially Flinta*
persons at the 08th of march to take action for the same human values at our streets.
With Flinta*s we mean women, lesbian, inter, non-binary, trans and agender persons
as well as every human being, which doesn’t fit into the patriarchal structures.
We want to conquer this kind of structures cause in there are always existing people
who live on the costs of others.
We are fighting for a utopia, in which all people live without experiencing violence and
where all can live fully self-determined. In this utopia the value of a human being is not
measured with gender, work outcome, health, origin, looking/appearance or sexuality.
In this utopia everybody has the same possibilities of influencing, so the same impact.
Money or power doesn’t rise the voting weight of individual persons. In this utopia, we
are trying to treat us in a solidaric, power critical and responsible as well as tolerant way. In this utopia are reproductive tasks like raising children, care, washing, cleaning
and cooking not less worth than productive tasks. Therefore, to care about one
selves and others are in the focus of society.
We see the need of opposing with our feminist utopia the current political climate. In
addition we want to inform you about the reasons why everybody is able to get benefits
meanwhile right-wing ideology helps nobody. We want a good life for every human
and not just for some few. Let us continue fighting in the family, in the job, in our
everyday lives for this utopia. Antifascism is just working out well hand in hand with
feminism. And at the same time feminism just goes hand in hand with antifascism!
And now its time to give the microphone to our first speech guest, Martha is telling us,
why feminism and antifascism always belonged to each other.
Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime (VVN) – League of Anti-Fascists
I am Martha Metzger, and for many years I have been a member of the Frauenzentrum Augsburg (Women’s Center) and the Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes – Bund der Antifaschist*innen (Association of Those Persecuted by the Nazi Regime – Association of Antifascists).
This organization was founded in 1947 by survivors of Nazi concentration camps. Thank you for allowing me to contribute something today on the topic of “Antifascism and feminism belong together”. Two minutes! This will be a demanding task.
What does “antifascism” mean historically? In short: “Political action against fascism that exists worldwide and has also come to power in Germany.”
Resistance is always directed
- against fascist regimes
- against the deliberate destruction of any form of democracy
- against politics of war and conques
- against colonialism and imperialism
- against racism, sexism and patriarchy and
- against the exclusion and destruction of humanist, communist and feminist worldviews.
After 1945, German fascism initially seemed defeated and important women in the „feminist women’s movement“ were either murdered by the Nazis or lived in exile.
But the Nazis were unable to eradicate anti-fascism and feminism: The fight for human rights and especially women’s rights continued. It is still an important task for antifascists and feminists today.
But beware! When the government calls its militaristic foreign policy „feminist“, it is not only stupid propaganda, but also a blatant lie and impudence!
Our motto as anti-fascists is: “Never again war – never again fascism!”
What does this have to do with feminism?
Antifascism and feminism come together in criticism of the structural, physical and mental violence against women and queer people of patriarchy and class society of economic and social inequality of land theft, hunger, climate destruction and genocide.
Antifascism must be feminist!
Let’s show resistance to patriarchy in the state, economy, family and religious communities!
No Justice – no Peace
Thank you. Our second speech is from the antifascism parents’ café. The group is an
example for many meeting points in Augsburg, at which political exchange find action.
Feel free to join to discuss, organize each other and build groups!
Antifascist parents café
Hello, I am a mother, feminist and founder of the Antifaschistisches Elterncafé (anti-fascist parent cafe). We meet once a month for coffee in the Grand Hotel under the motto “the private is political” and discuss children, education, politics and feminist issues. Or go to demonstrations together. It’s called a parents‘ cafe, but everyone and their families are welcome and we’re happy to have as much diversity as possible in the cafe.For me, the fight against fascism is inextricably intertwined with my feminist ideals, because at the end of the day it is about justice and the abolition of discrimination and oppression in our society. Fascism and right-wing ideas are based on patriarchal structures and the systematic devaluation of everyone who does not fit into the good middle-class white cis-hetero image. In order to effectively counter the current rise of right-wing forces, we must underpin our anti-fascist fight with feminist principles. And of course pass this on to our children so that together we can create a fair society across generations. You are cordially invited with your kids to the anti-fascist parents‘ cafe and if you don’t have children and would like to support the project, we are always looking for people who want to entertain the kids a bit, feel free to contact me or write to us on Insta. Thank you very much
World War II Memorial, Blaue Kappe
Feminist Strike Committee Aux
We are standing together here at the memorial of the victims of thewar and the destruction of the world war II., which was built in 1964. Worldwide died about 80 million people because of the Second World War. Not just soldiers and civilists died. In the NS Germany around 17 million people got systematically destroyed, because they didn’t fit in the view of the fascists. 17 million: That are the same number which Netherlands has as inhabitants.
In this society not every human life count the same. In this society difference wasn’t accepted and tolerated at all. All the ones, who thought, believed or lived differently were destroyed.
A huge amount ofpeople participated. Allthough there is the saying “never again”, the german society and politics keep going to drift towards the right-wing. Not just since the Correctiv-Recherche of the planed deportation clarifies, that the “never again” saying is not lived determined enough as well they show continuity, which never got denazified.
Xenophobic attacks are at a raising. The Ministry of the Interior counts over 2,400 attacks on refugees in 2023. Almost twice as many as in 2022 (wording „in the previous year“ because otherwise too many figures in a row). According to historian Harry Waibel, over 400 people were killed between 1990 and 2022 due to right-wing extremist motives. A sense of insecurity and fears of social decline in the middle classes are making right-wing and anti-democratic opinions more popular again.
We stand against violence and hatred. We stand against the slogans of the regulars‘ table that carelessly devalue people. We stand in solidarity with the people who declare this ideology to be the enemy. We show solidarity with the anti-racist and intersectional struggles in Augsburg, Germany and the world. This also includes the struggles against anti-Semitism, anti-ziganism and Islamophobia.
We stand in solidarity with feminist struggles worldwide: in Iran, women continue to protest against the regime, whose forces are deliberately targeting the eyes of protesters. In Turkey, the feminist movement is one of the strongest social movements, even though some of the protests in March 2023 were banned or the police tried to prevent them with pepper spray. Feminists in the Global South are fighting for climate justice and against racism, because economic, racist and sexist discrimination are mutually dependent and reinforce each other.
Feminist Fight Now!
The first to speak ZAM e. V., the association of Augsburg migrant organizations.
ZAM e. V.
Antifascism means fighting every form of political violence that produces structural conditions of oppression. Antifascism means destroying patriarchy and realizing an emancipatory anti-racist, queer-feminist perspective. It is no coincidence that male supremacy was and continues to be inherent in fascism. That’s why it’s clear to us that anti-fascism doesn’t work without the fundamental claim to attack the patriarchy and fight it in its entirety.
Audre Lourde once said „I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.“ Therefore, we stand for thinking and fighting in simultaneities and thus for a decolonial, anti-racist and anti- anti-Semitic queer feminism.
For us, patriarchy is to be understood as a condition across society and not to be externalized to so-called outside communities, but rather as violence that is and must be countered constantly and everywhere by a liberated perspective and the liberated body! We are the ones who carry the feminist day of struggle every day beyond March 8th and are also the ones who fight this fight until it is victorious.
Thanks to ZAM e. V. Now Augsburg Refugee Council speaks about the situation of queer
refugees.
Flüchtlingsrat Augsburg / refugee council
The conditions for a self-determined life for refugees in Germany are becoming increasingly difficult. If people make it into Fortress Europe at all in the future, they will be denied social participation by tightening laws or inhumane instruments.
Systematic exclusion is almost insurmountable, especially for groups of people who have been discriminated against multiple times. Today and here our focus will be on queer refugees.
What is missing?
There is a lack of awareness in the authorities, among psychologists or doctors, and in specialist knowledge in counseling centers – people are retraumatized, exposed and, in the worst case, deported.
What is missing?
There is a lack of appropriate accommodation with protection concepts – areas marked as shelters in regular accommodation are not enough – and accommodation for all „vulnerable groups of people“ together is also not enough. We want to emphasize: We NEVER recognize accommodation in shared accommodation and ANKER centers („arrival center“ for asylum seekers in Germany) as appropriate and humane accommodation. It is not possible to create safe spaces for ANYBODY here.
What is missing?
There is a lack of safe spaces for everyone. Who feels like they belong? Which rooms are accessible to whom? And which rooms are safe for whom? We all have to ask ourselves these questions.
What else is unfortunately not lacking?
Right-wing and conservative voices and media. They place, legitimize and fuel anti-queer positions in society. At the same time, diversity has a place in right-wing discourse in order to incite racism and Islamophobia against groups.
What else is unfortunately not lacking?
Right-wing politics under the guise of democracy.The list of so-called „safe countries of origin“ is to be expanded, the so-called „Returns Improvement Act“ (Rückführungsverbesserungsgesetz) is to facilitate deportations – including to countries where LGBTQI+ people are not protected, persecuted and even sentenced to death. GEAS (Common European Asylum System) will make it virtually impossible for people to arrive in Europe at all. And so much more. This is happening because of those in charge who are demonstrating with us against the right and who are taking to the streets with us today for women and LGBTQI+ rights.
So what can we do?
We must not look away. We must make voices and experiences visible – especially those that otherwise find little space in public discourse. We need to question and develop our own structures, exchange ideas, network and present and position ourselves as a common loud voice. We must think and organize anti-fascist struggles intersectionally.
Queer feminism can only be anti-fascist! Anti-fascism can only be queerfeminist!
Thank you. In a speech by the Integration Council, board member Hélène Ginsz-Kieffer answers
the question of what support foreign women have lacked in Germany to date.
Integrationsbeitrat Augsburg / Integration Advisory Board
Hello everyone. My speech is called „Supporting foreign women – it begins here and now“. I would like to explain why I chose this title…
As a board member of the Augsburg Integration Advisory Board (Integrationsbeirat), I would like to share an anecdote today. Discriminatory treatment of foreign women does not begin in distant countries, but here and now.
How often have I heard the sentence: „The poor women from abroad, they are mistreated, unlike here in Germany“. I would like to object to this today: the fight for more equality begins here and now in Germany, in Augsburg. It begins here and now.
Migrant women experience discrimination on a daily basis, no matter where they live, no matter where they work; they are disadvantaged not only as women, but also as migrants. I call that a double punishment. A double punishment as a refugee – in asylum accommodations and when learning the German language!
If funding for the integration of refugees is cut – and this was decided a few months ago in the Bundestag (parliament), it is primarily the women who suffer the most: there is a massive lack of places in German courses with childcare and there is a lack of space, protection and privacy for women in the shelters.
As the Integration Advisory Board, we are in dialog with associations such as „Tür an Tür“ or „Solwodi“. Both are calling for decentralized accommodation for asylum seekers with humane conditions and shelters for refugee women and their children. A double penalty for the so-called „compatibility of work and family“!
„Work and family“ – women are rightly demanding this today. Women who do not speak German and are overwhelmed by the bureaucracy have less access to childcare places for their children. This means more work for them in the household, less integration for the whole family and no opportunities to go to work. But these women want to work!
We on the Integration Advisory Board listen to the advice centers who tell us: „Registering children is too complicated for our clients“. Bavaria lacks 70,000 childcare places for children under 3 years of age, and a third of minors have a migration background. We appeal to Bavarian and local politicians: there must be enough childcare places for all children and the bureaucratic hurdles involved in registration of small children must be reduced!
A double punishment – on the labor market!
Women with a migration background are overrepresented in the low-wage sector: according to official statistics, the proportion of low-wage workers among foreign women is around 35 %, compared to around 15 % among Germans. These women work hard and receive little money for it, little money for housing and health, little money to be able to pay enough into their pension.
Our appeal to politicians: Wages in the low-wage sector need to be upgraded!
Our appeal to civil society and employers: there needs to be anencounter with migrant workers at eye level!
Women with a migration background suffer on many levels. „It gets them down“, says my advisory board colleague Gabi Opas, who runs programs on building self-confidence for these women with the Freiwilligen-Zentrum (Volunteer Center). She says: „They have experienced so many rejections. We want to empower them. We should all help them to believe in themselves again“.
To you, dear sisters and supporters of equality, I appeal today: Please treat these women as equals. Think in solidarity with them. Raise your voices, voices for these women – your female employees, colleagues, neighbors and friends need your courage and our solidarity. Get involved individually, help these women with their everyday challenges. Get involved socially, socio-politically for women with a migration background. It begins here and now with you. Thank you very much.
Thanks to Integrationsbeirat. The Plattform Neue Frauen talks about the significance of March 8 and the feminist struggle in the face of the global crises.
Hello dear women and dear comrades
Merhaba, kizkardeslerimiz
Hevale delal, Serseran Sercavan
Today, all over the world, women are taking to the streets to express their rights, their freedom, their bodies, their lives and our demands.
March 8th is the resistance and fight against the patriarchal society. A society that has oppressed women for thousands of years, enslaved them, exploited their labor and made them the second sex.
March 8th is the fight to reclaim our rights and freedoms that have been taken away from us.
March 8th is the fight to rewrite history with female gender consciousness, female language and purple colors.
That’s why I’m looking forward to celebrating this important day with all of you.
The general situation of women worldwide has deteriorated and their rights to self-determination are still restricted.
Attacks on male-dominated capitalist systems in the world are increasing. Women continue to be the direct target of imperialist war policies, male domination and exploitation.
The war between Ukraine and Russia, the war between Israel and Palestine that has turned into genocide, the deportation plans of the Nazi parties, fascist organizations like the AfD in Germany, the misogynistic policies of conservative, fascist governments hits women, immigrants and all other oppressed people the hardest.
All of these crises arise from male-dominated capitalist exploitation. Our nature is being exploited in all areas, from economics to healthcare, from education to ecology.
Nature is being ruthlessly plundered. And our future and existence is at risk.
For us women, the fight against racism, sexism and the organization of fascist structures is an extremely important issue. We cannot leave our fight to the state or governments.
Despite all male and state oppression, women take to the streets. Despite all the oppression, the world’s strongest movement is the women’s movement.
We defend the rights of women and LGBTI people.
We fight for gender equality and justice.
We fight against wars, militarism, destruction of nature, labor exploitation and racism in all areas.
We have to fight the cause. The cause is the patriarchal capitalist system.
Our feminist struggle is an anti-fascist struggle.
We women want a just world – a world free of violence.
We want a future without wars, crises and without a patriarchal capitalist system.
We will never walk alone, let’s strengthen women’s solidarity even further.
NI UNA MENOS, JIN JIYAN AZADI, Women Life Freedom, no means no
What we have to say
We have the power to make a difference!
State theatre, Kennedy-Platz
Feminist Strike Committee Aux
Feminist struggle is a struggle for life! People die from sexualized and sexist violence.
The outcry „Ni una menos!“ – „not one less“ – led to solidarity actions all over the world
in 2018. It was triggered by the murders of flinta*s in South America. In 2022, 89,000 feminicides, murders of women, were committed. Worldwide. As many people as can fit into the world’s largest soccer stadium. Highest level in 20 years.
Germany is no exception, as we will hear in one of the following speeches. Feminist struggle is also a struggle for bodies. Conservative and right-wing ideologies want to control the female body. They want to dictate who can give birth, who must give birth. Ultra-right-wing governments like in Poland, Texas or the USA ban abortions and thus kill women. In Germany, doctors have been allowed to provide information about abortion methods since 2023, but the social headwind in Augsburg and throughout southern Germany continues to cause a lack of care. No practice or clinic in Augsburg performs abortions. Medical training is by no means uniform throughout Germany.
Other methods and findings of gender-specific healthcare are also far from being included in all medical textbooks. Let alone in laws or guidelines. Health insurance companies continue to use the ICD-10 assessment guidelines, the so-called „Gender reassignment measures for transsexualism“ assessment guidelines. It excludes nonbinary people from receiving benefits and continues to classify transgender as a behavioral and personality disorder.
In a system in which such misinformation is used by the official side, one thing is for sure: gender-specific violence is on the rise. Transphobia and queerphobia are on the rise. Conservatives and right-wingers who divide people into norms and deviations and stir up fears are not least to blame. We oppose this generalization. We oppose this dehumanization, which is the cause of violence. We take a stand against the fear of the other that promotes this rejection – headless and baseless.
The Oben-ohne-Kollektiv now talks about anger, fear and hope in relation to the current demonstrations against the right.
Oben-ohne-Kollektiv
Hello, we are the Oben-ohne-Kollektiv („Topless Collective“) – we fight the sexualization of bodies and this fucking patriarchy – and we are angry!
How long should we continue to demonstrate before we are taken seriously? How many more times should there be violence against us before it stops? Until we are important enough? How often are we betrayed in our demands by a state that supposedly opposes fascism? Anti-fascism can only be feminist!
We are angry!
When will the femicides stop? The humiliation of bodies? The binary gender roles? Man or woman? Hello! Trans, non-binary and all other possible genders are REAL! We are already here! You can stop discussing our existence!
And I’m glad that I’m angry and not, as usual, depressed.
I am glad that I can share my anger with you, become stronger and more confident in my demands. I feel safe in smashing the patriarchy together with you.
Thanks for being there!
But where are the 30,000 from a few weeks ago who demonstrated against the AFD? Is feminism suddenly too political for them again?
Of course it was important and also encouraging that so many people took to the streets. Because right-wing ideas must never remain unchallenged! And nevertheless, after the protests, many of us are left with feelings of powerlessness and helplessness. Because we can’t be sure that all of these 30,000 are really standing behind us. Especially when it matters.
Yes, where are the 30,000 today, on „feminist day of struggle“? Where were the 30,000 two ago at the memorial demonstration for the racist attack in Hanau? What means your “All together against fascism” if you don’t seem to understand what Fascism really leads to? What it means for marginalized people now that the right is gaining strength?
Those around me often ask me why I am advocating so much against the right. But many people don’t seem to understand that I don’t feel like I have a choice.
For me, being against the right does not mean going to a demonstration once a year because there is such a nice atmosphere there. For me, fighting against the right means fighting to ensure that I can still have an abortion here in Germany in 10 years if I don’t feel like having a child. For me, fighting against the right means that I can still hold hands with my girlfriend on the street without having to be afraid of being hit in the face by a fascist. I can’t choose to fight against the right. Not if I have to be fucking afraid for all the trans, queer, disabled, Jewish and/or BIPoC people in my life that the AfD, let’s be honest, would like to see dead.
But we don’t let our family, friends, neighbors and comrades be taken from us. This is what we fight for!
So yes, I’ll be happy when we finally no longer just take to the streets with the same 100 Antifas, but suddenly there are 30,000 people there. But then please also understand that we need to know that you really stand behind us and behind the people who are already drastically feeling the shift to the right. That you stand behind us even if our protest is sometimes more radical than yours. And that you don’t come at us with horseshoes if, for example, we block anti-abortion activists again, as we will soon do in Munich, because no one else will do it. Because you understand that we must fight the battle NOW. And we can’t just leave it to the state and the government, because they themselves are supporting these right-wing forces – just look at the asylum policy. Because you understand that we need stable Antifas and, above all, stable F*antifas (feminist Antifas) in order to combat right-wing structures, especially locally, in our neighborhoods!
So show solidarity! Join forces, organize!
There are fascists in every city – form gangs, destroy them!
Thanks you so much. We would like to send a content note in advance. The Queerkollektivs talks below about trans-hostile violence, murder and structural trans and queer hostility.
QueerKollektiv
It’s March 8th again. It’s International Day for Feminist Struggles again. Like last year, we once again have the privilege of giving a speech today. Last year in our speech we remembered Brianna Ghey, who was murdered in England a year ago, on February 11, 2023, because she was a trans* woman. She was only 16 years old.
A year has passed and nothing has changed. The injustices have persisted, which is why we must continue to denounce them. We live in a reality in which constant violence and discrimination are part of everyday life for many trans* people. This reality also includes over 114 femicides in Germany in 2023 and, as of two weeks ago, 17 women are already victims of patriarchal violence this year.
We feel like we repeat ourselves too much, but what else can we talk about?
About the dehumanizing fetishization of queer identities that is still widespread? About TERFs who, under the guise of protecting women, not only stir up hatred towards trans* people, but also reach a level of sexism that even CDU regulars would distance themselves from?! The self-determination law doesn’t seem to be a big priority in the government; instead, gender bans in schools are being discussed. And fuck, as if it weren’t enough that the fascist AfD is reaching peak numbers in the polls, while the government parties and CDU are paving the way for them, or are immediately adopting the AfD’s demands themselves. Now we also have to worry that soon any asshole will be able to create AI-generated deepfake revenge porn with only a few clicks. The tools for this are fully promoted on Instagram and social platforms.
We would like to tell you that something has improved. We would like to give a perspective that something is improving and not denounce the same grievances every year. So what should we talk about?
A year ago we stood on this stage and thought of Brianna Ghey.This year, on February 8, 2024, 3 days before Brianna’s death anniversary, Nex Benedict dies. One day after they were beaten in a school bathroom in Oklahoma for being non-binary. Nex was also only 16 years old. We’re still dying. All around the world. People are still bullied, insulted, rejected, raped and murdered simply because of their marginalized gender identity. This violence does not come out of nowhere. It is the result of decades of misogyny and queer hostility. And here in Germany too, conservatives and right-wing populists often try to play us off against each other so we don’t have time to defend ourselves against them.
But we won’t let ourselves be divided! We know that we can only win the fight against patriarchy together! That is why we must think and lead various liberation struggles against discriminatory and exploitative realities together.
We will not forget Brianna, Nex and all the others who were taken too soon. And we will fight together! Against the patriarchy, against the right-wing shit, until no one, anywhere, has to suffer because of their own gender identity!
All of us together for feminism!
Laura from Frauenzentrum Augsburg is the last speaker at this halfway point. Her focuses on an important representative of the Afro-German community. May Ayim fought against racist violence yesterday, today and tomorrow – including in her poetry and shows that we all must not give in to hatred.
Frauenzentrum e. V. (FZ)
Hi, I’m Laura and I’m speaking for FZ today.
I am white and endo cis female.
Why is that important? It is important because I want to use the opportunity to speak here to give space to a topic that white women in the fight for feminism cannot remain silent about: The history of Black women in Germany and today here in particular of May Ayim.
At the moment I find particularly important to raise the voices of those who have always been the first to lead political struggles. Especially because they are the first to be attacked. And because they are the ones whose voices, even on days like today do not have the chance to be heard.
A big thank you to Sidney, who helped me a lot in writing this text. In Germany, February has been celebrated as Black History Month since 1990. It is often ignored that Black people in Germany have a long history and that the achievements of Black people, the resistance against colonialism and racism deserve recognition.
Black German historiography is characterized by resistance against colonialism, as well as the later resistance against racist terms and labels and the strengthening of an Afro-German community. Black German emancipation is always interwoven with feminist and queer struggles. The struggles and achievements of Black history and the present in Germany deserve attention – even beyond the 28 days of February.
With this in mind, I would like to read two poems by May Ayim. May Ayim is one of the most prominent representatives of the Black community in Germany. Her words and works have not only led to the visualization of Black people living in Germany, but also to the publicity of a history long thought to be lost.
Among other things, she was co-editor of the 1986 published book „Showing Our Colors: Afro-German Women Speak Out“, which gave reason to found the Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (Initiative of Black people in Germany). She was a lecturer at Berlin universities and published numerous poems and essays.
Germany in Autumn (1992)
it is not true
that it is not true
so it was
first at first and then again
so it is
Kristallnacht:
In November 1938
first splintered window glass
then
again and again
human bones
of Jews and Blacks and
the Sick and the Weak and
Sinti and Roma and
Poles and Lesbians and
Gays of and of
and of and of
and and
first a few then many
more and more:
raised the hand and taking part
cheered and applauded
or gawked in secret
how she
and she
and he and he
and he and she
first now and then
then again and again
yet again?
one single case:
in November 1990
Antonio Amadeo from Angola
in Eberswalde
was beat to death
by Neo-Nazis
his child born soon after
by a white German woman
their house soon after
destroyed
oh, well
and the police
arrived so late
that it was too late
and the newspapers’ words
were so clipped
that it was like silence
and no image on TV
about the murder case
no commentary on the incident
in newly unified Germany
which likes to call itself
much too eager reunited
in this town and that
first houses
then people
burned
first East then West
then all across the country
first at first then again
it is not true
that it is not true
so it wasso it is:
Germany in autumn
I shudder to think of winter.
Feminist anti-fascism must become practical. So let us, in the words of May Ayim, ‚remain borderless and brazen‘.
Town Hall square
Feminist Strike Committee Aux
We have arrived at the last station of our demonstration. The contributions before have made clear our common struggle against fascism, racism, queer and trans hostility. However, our struggle is not over as long as capitalism rules.
Capitalism feeds on injustice and inequality. This economic system generates profit through exploitation. The capitalist system reinforces the inequalities that people are already exposed to. That’s why our fight goes beyond Equal Pay Day. Politicians are ignoring the emergency in the care sector, which has been obvious even before the pandemic. 22.5% of people working in this vital sector have a history of migration. Four out of five carers in this group are female. Without this care, this society cannot survive.
And yet we are all guilty of this every day. Those who live under capitalism live at the expense of others. We benefit from people doing care work for us. We outsource our care for the elderly to poorly paid care workers. Our housework are done by cleaning staff, who are rarely registered. Without workers in the low-wage sector, supermarket shelves would remain empty and parcels would be left lying around.
In 2022, 23% of women were paid low wages, compared to 16% of men. We recognize the achievements that unions have made so far in the fight for workers‘ rights. But capitalist oppression can also be seen globally: when workers in the textile factories of Bangladesh strike for months for decent working conditions – and the FDP still blocks the EU supply chain law. The global North continues to live at the expense of the global South. Conservative, neoliberal and right-wing parties deny this responsibility, whether in relation to climate catastrophe, the causes of flight or the continued colonial legacy. The policy of deterrence at the EU’s external borders, which the German government has just agreed to, directly implements the AFD’s policy of isolation. Fighting feminist now therefore also means fighting against capitalism and nationalism.
Representatives of the GEW university groups are now talking about the need to oppose the AFD.
GEW Hochschulgruppe
“Anti-fascism can only be feminist.” We as the university group of Education and Science Union (GEW) are pleased to be taking to the streets with all of you today under this motto. The news reports about the meeting where the deportation of those seeking protection in Germany and German citizens was discussed and in which members of the AfD and the CDU/CSU took part, was a wake up call for many people regarding the shift to the right in society and drove hundreds and thousands of them onto the streets.
Right-wing and right-wing extremist actors have always tried to divide people and turn them against each other. They want to push socially disadvantaged groups to the margins of society and beyond. They declare those who advocate liberation from oppressive systems declare their enemies.
We have experience with these strategies from a feminist perspective. Today I’m going to talk about the AfD’s anti-feminist politics, but it’s worth mentioning that parties to the left of the AfD are not immune to sexism because of this. As is clear from the AfD’s basic program, the AfD relies exclusively on the traditional family with a full-time mother, father and many children – of course only families that the AfD would describe as „German“. Financial support for studying or buying a home is then tied to having children. And counseling centers are supposed to harass unwanted pregnant women, not to get an abortion.
As a union for the education and science sectors, the AfD’s hostility to queers and its insistence on maintaining rigid gender role models deserve special mention. They claim that informing students in school that queer people exist and are human is „indoctrination“. If it was up to them, scientific research about socially determined gender differences in the field of gender studies should be withdrawn from any state funding. Gender differences are supposedly only biologically determined and are therefore „natural“ and „desirable“. Accordingly, the AfD says there is no alternative to a one-sided emphasis on traditional role models, especially in schools and kindergartens. Based on such specious arguments, educators who advocate for gender equality and the safety of queer people become enemy number 1 in the AfD’s education policy.
From a feminist perspective, we also have a great treasure of forms of resistance against these strategies of fascist misanthropes! We have a wealth of approaches for solidarity! And we have – as we can wonderfully see today – a great wealth of wonderful people who fight in an anti-fascist and feminist way!
Thank you. At the beginning of the 20th century, workers organized the first struggles for women’s suffrage and better working conditions with the help of free trade unions. Sigrid from
the trade union verdi talks today about the gender pay gap, which is even higher in
Bavaria than the German average.
Verdi
Dear feminists,
dear colleagues,
dear friends,
Today, we gather to celebrate International Women’s Day, a day that honors the achievements, challenges, and future prospects of women worldwide.
On March 8th, millions of women fight for more rights and against their discrimination, disadvantage, and oppression.
At ver.di, as a trade union, we are fully aware of the significant importance of equality and fair working conditions, especially concerning the lives of women. We advocate for working hours that fit life demands, for the redistribution of care work, for incomes that secure livelihoods, and for closing the wage gap between women and men!
Just two days ago was the Equal Pay Day – the day until which women effectively work for free because they unjustly receive less pay than men. In Bavaria in 2023, men earned an average of €26.85 per hour, while women only earned €21.24. This amounts to a gender pay gap of 21 percent in Bavaria. Nationwide, women earn on average 18 percent less. In Bavaria, Equal Pay Day should therefore be set on March 17th this year.
The history of the labor movement is inseparable from the fight for women’s rights. Women have played a crucial role in unions, fighting for equal pay, job security, and fair treatment in the workplace. However, we must recognize that the journey towards gender equality is not yet complete.
Women play a unique and irreplaceable role in our society and in the workforce. They not only contribute to economic growth and societal stability but are often the main support for their families. Nevertheless, many women still face many obstacles such as wage inequality, prejudice, discrimination, and unequal opportunities for advancement. At the end of their working lives, they face poverty.
As a trade union, we advocate for the rights and interests of all our members, regardless of gender, race, or background. However, we still must ensure daily that women in the workforce are treated equally and have the same opportunities as their male counterparts. This means fighting every day for fair wages, equal promotion opportunities, safe working conditions, and societal change – and especially for our women.
Gender equality is not just a matter of fairness but also of economic sense. Studies show that companies and societies that promote gender diversity are more successful and resilient.
By ensuring that women are represented in all areas of the economy and public life and receive equal opportunities and recognition, we can create a fairer and more sustainable society.
Therefore, I call on all of you to continue to stand up for women’s rights and support our efforts to promote gender equality. Join a trade union and let us together fight for everyone to have the same chances and opportunities, regardless of gender.
Because only when women are treated equally can we create a fairer and more solidarity society for all.
Thank you. The Solidarity Network talks about the effects that capitalism and war have on
the world’s workers – especially those affected by multiple forms of discrimination.
Solidaritätsnetzwerk
Dear Augsburgers,
Dear demonstrators,
I’m Sarah and I’m speaking for the Augsburg Solidarity Network today. We are taking to the streets today to demonstrate against war, high prices and the patriarchy.
We are the women of the working class – we don’t own corporations or big machines or huge fortunes. We are the ones who stand in the factories and sell our labor while those in power enrich themselves from our work.
In times of crisis, we feel all the more clearly that we are even more oppressed and exploited than our male colleagues. This particular oppression based on gender is patriarchy.
Today we still receive significantly less wages and lower pensions.
We are often forced into unsafe working conditions and often have poorer educational opportunities.
An increase in poverty means an enormous burden for countless working class women in particular.
It is obvious that this situation is also getting worse due to increasing militarization. While billions are being invested in weapons, we don’t get even a cent – on the contrary: real wages have fallen sharply in recent years due to inflation.
During wars and while fleeing, women are increasingly confronted with sexual violence. Domestic violence, stalking and femicide are still part of our reality.
But we know that as working class women we can unite and fight back: We see all over the world what resistant women achieve: In Kurdistan, our sisters are building a society that defends democratic and women’s rights, consistently combats patriarchal violence and enables women to self-determine. In Afghanistan, women organize education for women and put their lives at risk. Thousands of women are fighting against fascism in Iran.
In Germany, too, we women are showing that we can no longer accept everything: be it in the strikes in hospitals or daycare centers or in the protest actions against the wars in Israel/Palestine or the Ukraine.
The fight for our liberation unites all sections of the working class oppressed by patriarchy. This is why we must stand shoulder to shoulder with the fighting LGBTI+ movement and smash the patriarchy together!
Let’s take action today against war, high prices and patriarchy!
We know that capitalism and male domination will be smashed!
Join this fight!
Women who fight are women who live!
Thanks to Solinetz.Think globally, act locally. Let’s fight feminist together. Because anti-fascism can only be feminist. Many thanks to all the speakers, the supporters, the sign language
interpreters and all people who made this possible.
