"Anna had one foot in another world, the world of education and middle-class." (Marianne Fredriksson, Hannah's Daughters)
To what extent has the position of women changed in society in the last hundred years? In which areas something still has to change?
Hermann Hausmann - 24.02.2019 @ 10:11
Ein schnelles Leben
by Seraina Schwyter, VKS Växjö/Sweden
The book is about a girl who lives in two worlds at the same time. “Ein schnelles Leben” or “A Quick Life” is written by Zoë Jenny and is a Romeo and Juliet-story with a twist. It’s about what happens when two totally different cultures meet in Germany.
Ayse is a young woman from a Turkish family. Her brother always protects her and her parents as well, always makes sure to keep an eye on her. Ayse has a very good relationship with her brother, which is very common for this particular culture. In the Turkish culture family always comes first, which sometimes is not the case in the German or Swedish culture. Her brother Zafir also values their relationship a lot. He loves his sister immensely even though the pressure from their parents might be too much at times. One example of this pressure is when he has to keep an eye on her at a party at her best friend Sezens’ place. Ayse is not very popular at their school but Sezen, on the contrary, is. The German characters seem to be more popular than Ayse, because of the cultural differences.
It's very obvious in the book that in the Turkish culture men and elders have more power than women and children. The men can do more, and in some aspects control women. We can see this through the power distribution in Ayses’ family. Her brother has power and responsibility over her, not just because he’s older but also because of his gender. In the German or Swedish culture it is more of a blend between the different genders. The younger individuals also have more to say in family settings, as far as what they want and what they think. Men in Germany generally have less power than the ones in Turkey when it comes to family. The topic of sexuality is also more taboo in the Turkish culture. It is very difficult for Ayse to show her body and her sexuality and at times frowned upon. On the one hand she wants to follow the rules of her culture, while on the other hand she wants to be a part of the community of other girls of her age.
Despite the many difficulties Ayse has, we should be proud of the progress we have made, and the goals we have reached in terms of female rights. What’s accepted for women in some countries and cultures is not as common in others. Women have fought for their rights for hundreds of years, and are still fighting for equality between men and women. Some women still have to fight for a good education and a good job because they are seen as “lesser” than the males with the same goals. Having the same rights as men in terms of politics also plays a huge part of making the world more equal. Just a couple of years ago the right to vote was unimaginable for many women around the world, nowadays it’s fundamental to many.
In Ayse's case help from the school and her parents might have helped. We all have to make sure that the laws against discrimination are put in place and enforced and we have to support women in any way we can. In the end we’re all just humans. We are all made out of flesh, bones and blood. A woman is of the same worth as a man and therefore the fight for women's rights should go on. Let’s hope that the legacy of the women fighting before us can carry on, and that we keep on fighting for our own freedom.
This is a very good article and I agree with many points that were made. The book sounds really interesting, too.
Even though we have made progress in terms of equality between genders, there's still a long way to go. Like it was mentioned in the article, there are still places in the world were women are "worthless", and I hope this will change in the future. However, even in countries like Austria and Germany, there are still cases of sexism, especially at work. Women are expected to bear children and therefore less likely to get jobs in leading positions, as they could go on maternity leave. Sometimes they are even paid less for the same job.
The book that came to my mind while reading this article was "Pope Joan". Although it is set during the medieval time period, you can still see the similarity to today's situation. The book is about a young girl, Joan, who believes in her dreams, disguises herself as a man and eventually becomes pope. I think it highlights the troubles women had to face back then very well and is overall a thrilling and captivating read.
Anja Leitner - 21.04.2019 @ 19:01
Hi Seraina!
Your article is about a very interesting and current topic which affects many cultures of the world. In some countries women are treated very badly and don't even have the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled. Also in developed coutries female citizens aren't seen as strong and productive as male ones. Although women play a very important role in our society, they don't have the same chances of getting well paid jobs as men.
In my opinion, women should be allowed to shape their lives the way they want und not the way their fellow human beings consider to be right!
Recently I've read "Desert Flower". This is an amazing book about a Somali girl who suffers a lot in her fatherland. When her parents want her to marry an elderly man she flees to the capital of Britain, London. There she gets into some trouble as well until she meets a fashion photographer who helps her a lot. This emotional story considers points like hope, justice and power of women.
Julia Mahfud - 23.04.2019 @ 21:33
I really like your article and I agree with you. Women have been fighting for their rights for so many years but there are still countries where women aren’t allowed to vote or to do anything without permission of their husband and that is just unfair.
This article reminds me of the book "Animant Crumbs Staubchronik“, which was written by the German author Lin Rina. Animant Crumb is a curious young woman whose family is very rich. Her mother just wants her to marry a decent and respected man and be his well-behaved wife but Animant isn’t interested in any of that. She loves reading and one day she gets a job in London as a library assistant. The library belongs to a university and of course there are just men allowed so many of those men are irritated by the sight of a woman as library assistant.
I love this book because Animant showed me how a woman in the 1890s doesn’t approve with the lifestyle society imposes on women. Without people like her we would still be stuck in medieval times.
Leonie Reiter - 23.04.2019 @ 21:57
Hey guys!
This article and the comments that have been written by all of you are very, very interesting. Many things I agree with have already been said. All those girls here stand for equality, just like me, and that' s what our world requires. This culture is in need of strong and independent women that stand up against discrimination and who show the world the value of a woman.
There's no country in this world I can name where women and men are absolutely equal. Of course there are places where women live better lives and some where women are treated as if we still were in the Middle Ages. But it's important for us not to give up, and to carry on fighting for the rights we deserve.
The first book that popped into my mind while I was reading about this topic was "Becoming" by Michelle Obama. Many people have many different opinions about her, but everybody I've talked to (up to now) agreed with me in one point: She's a great activist and feminist. Equality is a very important concern to her, may it be about equality between men and women, black and white or poor and rich people, she stands up for the ones who do not dare to do so. In her book are many quotes that made me think, inspired and enthused me. Among many other things she said: "The difference between a broken community and a thriving one is the presence of women who are valued.". Or she also stated: "Strong men - men who are truly role models - don't need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful.''. And that's what feminism is about! Not about men who are worth less than women or women who hate men. It's just about same rights, same payment, same treatment, etc. and I hope for all of us that we will reach this goal one day.
Marie Naschberger - 25.05.2019 @ 19:36
Hello Seraina!
I really liked your article- it was enjoyable to read and also the book you referred to seems quite interesting. However, I have to admit that reading all the comments above has filled me with a feeling of injustice and disappointment because they were all true. Even though the feminist movement managed to improve the position of women during the last century, it's still not a problem to give some examples of circumstances when women are treated worse than men. As soon as I read the topic of this thread, one title immediately came to my mind. The book I am willing to recommend to you is 'The Handmaid's Tale' written by Margaret Atwood. It presents the futuristic vision of the world which is dominated by men. The political system- totalitarian theocracy- is based on the strange interpretation of the Old Testament. Almost all women are infertile, so the minority who is able to give birth to children is brainwashed and turned into handmaids. Then they lose everything, even their names and are raped every month by their owners. This book shows what can happen when we stop fighting for women's rights, so reading it is really important.
Amelia Marchewczyk - 16.06.2019 @ 10:20