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“Courage is to say what is. And to be who you are"

Mirna Funk, writer</p>You always need courage when you have to fight against yourself.

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“Courage is to say what is. And to be who you are"

Mirna Funk, writer

You always need courage when you have to fight against yourself. Against deep fears, wrong beliefs, the desire to please, the worry of losing family and friends. Any inner conflict that we face with courage is followed by self-actualization.

The result is what is called in psychoanalysis individuation. That is why the greatest enemy of courage is also convenience. Those who sit back have given up before real life can begin.

Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, FDP politician and member of the FDP national board

Courage can have many different facets and forms. What requires courage and what does not is a very individual question. It can mean getting up when everyone is looking down, speaking when everyone is silent. It can mean betting on someone you believe in; but also to do things differently than they have always been done. But it can also mean doing things out of conviction, knowing that doing so will result in personal damage.

At the heart of all these actions, however, is always one's own attitude.

An inner compass is the basic condition and source of courageous action. Only when I am personally deeply convinced that I am doing the right thing can I find the courage to accept negative consequences for my actions. Only when I'm sure that I'm right can I find the courage to defend my position against any headwind or resistance.

I therefore consider courage to be a necessary quality, especially in politics. We parliamentarians were elected to hold debates, represent positions and ultimately make decisions and take responsibility for them. Especially in times of very polarized debates, for example on corona policy or currently on support for Ukraine in defending against Russia's war of aggression, which is illegal under international law, one has to be able to endure a lot of vehement contradiction - also in the form of insults, threats and insults.

You can only endure that if you don't base your decisions on strategic calculations or the latest surveys, but on your own inner compass. Anyone who acts to the best of their knowledge and belief can also tolerate criticism and is able to admit mistakes. In my opinion, this leads to better politics than when the actors hide behind majorities or habits.

Daniela Sepehri, German-Iranian from Berlin, works as a social media manager and is active in the Iranian opposition movement

We see the definition of courage in the revolution in Iran. Women, queer people, ethnically marginalized groups such as Kurds and Baluchs have been on the streets for months protesting against a regime that shoots children on the street, that rapes young women, but also men, in prisons, girls Schools poisoned, which tortures and executes.

The Islamic Republic regime is doing all this to intimidate the people who, for the last four decades and five months, have been rising up against this violence and terror. What motivates an Armita Abbasi who is almost raped to death in prison and shows herself online without a headscarf after her release?

What motivates a Bahare Soleimani who, after years of imprisonment as a political prisoner in the notorious Evin prison, is released and cuts her hair in solidarity with the murdered in front of the prison, while shouting "Woman life freedom"?

What drives the workers who have been on strike for weeks, knowing full well that they could go to jail at any time? What motivates Kurdish musician Saman Yasin, who has been sentenced to death in prison and whose protest continues with a dry hunger strike behind bars?

I can not explain. I can only marvel. Amazed at the courage and struggle for survival of the people of Iran for freedom and Jin Jiyan Azadi.

Güner Balci, social worker, filmmaker and since August 2020 integration officer of Berlin-Neukölln

Courage is when people fight for freedom. Freedom that others want to take away from them by force. The drive for this courage is often the fear of losing something existential.

The fight for freedom, the fight against oppression, arbitrariness and violence takes place everywhere. At home, on the war front, on the street, at school, in the village as in the city, in every country and on every island, there is no place in the world where people live where you cannot meet them. Many freedom fighters pay for their commitment with their lives. Others experience violence, imprisonment or social ostracism. Some pay for it by never again being able to go out on the street without personal protection because the threat situation no longer allows them a free life.

In Germany these people are called, for example, Seyran Ates, Mouhanad Korchide, Ahmad Mansour and Hamed Abdel Samad. In the death threats they receive, their enemies sometimes indulge in detailed fantasies of execution. They come from extremists, nationalists and Islamists in Germany and Europe. All because these four people dare to use words to criticize a reactionary, inhumane and anti-freedom understanding of religion. They demand critical, constructive discourse on the basis of democracy and human rights.

Instead of standing by their side, their critics in Germany hide behind mendacious "anti-Muslim racism" debates and promote hate speech and hatred against those who wage this freedom fight for everyone who values ​​the individual freedom of the individual and the achievements of the Enlightenment in civilization are seen as a collective accommodation and submission to archaic, anti-democratic values. Cowardice is more comfortable than courage - the price that people then have to pay is visible all over the world, especially women are affected first - the loss of freedom should scare us all, always and everywhere.

Ria Schröder, FDP member of the Bundestag from Hamburg

On a German Bundestag delegation trip to Nepal, I met Lily Thapa, founder of the organization Women for Human Rights (WHR). She has freed more than 200,000 women from the prisons of her patriarchal society.

Up until the 1920s, Nepal practiced sati, a Hindu tradition in which widows were cremated with their deceased husbands. Fortunately, this is forbidden today, but women are still socially isolated when their husbands die.

They experience (sexualized) violence, economic and political restrictions, are not allowed to use public transport and are not allowed to wear jewelry or colorful clothing. Lily Thapa and her team are breaking with this practice and giving women back their freedom. After being daughter, then wife, and finally widow, WHR allows them to be themselves for the first time.

It takes courage to break with conventions, to defend oneself against resistance and to tear down one's own walls. And: To give others the courage they need to free themselves.

Düzen Tekkal, author, war correspondent and human rights activist

As a human rights activist, I am repeatedly put to the test of courage. Every day begins with the question: "Should I leave it? Or am I doing it?”

The “problem” is – and my former university professor also confirmed this to me: I can’t help myself. This is also due to the fact that courage was essential for my survival. Just standing by what I am has always required courage: woman, Jesidin, Kurdish. Because of my background, I have little choice but to be brave.

When we work with our human rights organization HÁWAR.help to empower women and enable them to take their lives into their own hands, we call on forces who have something against it. It means taking on Islamists, right-wing extremists, misogynists, anti-Semites. In addition, taking a public stand is always a balancing act. Hannah Arendt speaks of the "risk of the public": Everything that is said or done publicly is evaluated and weighed up, declared useful or useless. And that's just as well!

For me it is also part of strengthening people in their courage. When I see how women and men in Iran have been rebelling against a despotic regime with all their might for months, then it is clear to me that I have to support it! Not least because members of my family have ended up in torture prisons for their demands, which are expressed in the freedom slogan "Jin - Jiyan - Azadî", "Woman - Life - Freedom" (a phrase from the Kurdish women's freedom movement). It shows me that the fights are similar and that it pays to be brave - and one day you no longer have to face the many tests of courage alone.

Marieluise Beck, senior fellow at the think tank “Zentrum Liberale Moderne” and member of the Bundestag for the Greens until 2017

Tatyana Tikhomirowa from Belarus is courageous. She defied Alexander Lukashenko even though her husband is held hostage in the dictator's camp. Maryja Kalesnikawa was deadly. She tore up her passport to prevent her deportation to Ukraine. The price is high for this act of resistance. Long camp imprisonment and danger to life and limb.

Evgenia Kara-Murza is courageous. She did not prevent her husband from returning to Russia, even though she knew it would mean his arrest.

Equally courageous Yulia Navalnaya. Even after there was an attempted assassination of her husband, she did not stop him from continuing to challenge Putin. She allowed him to return to Moscow from the safety of Berlin.

Svetlana Gannushkina is courageous, incorruptible and truthful even in old age. She calls a war what a war is and is not silent about the crime.

The women of Pussy Riot are brave. With the Mediazona portal, you counteract the silence about the killed Russian soldiers. They track down names, look for graves and reveal the catastrophe that the war of annihilation also means for many Russian men.

The women in Ukraine have courage who oppose the aggressors who want to deny them a life in freedom and democracy. Which, despite war, despite violence, despite danger and threats, do not surrender.

There are so many: doctors, nurses, cooks in the soup kitchens, couriers for relief supplies, neighbors who open the doors for displaced people. There are many of them, Yuliia Paievska, soldier and medic from Mariupol. Maria Berlinska, soldier and architect of the system of air reconnaissance points. They fight against the aggressor who brings terror, despotism, deportation, violence and hardship.

The women in Iran are infinitely courageous. Like their Ukrainian sisters, they too are fighting against the power of the dictators.

Tijien Onaran, entrepreneur and investor

Courage is... my middle name.

Because my life is made of courage - whether it's about becoming an entrepreneur without a tennis court network or as a woman standing up for diversity issues and being loud and visible for it. Courage comes from outside the comfort zone and for me it means constantly evolving, never standing still and always standing up for myself, but also for others. Especially as a woman, you are constantly told that you are "closed".

Too loud, too quiet, too sexy or not sexy enough.

Then to develop the courage for one's own independence is a life's work. But as the saying goes: the world belongs to the brave. It's not for nothing that I have "Be your own f*cking hero*" tattooed on my shoulder - as a reminder of the courage I always need and live!

Franziska Hoppermann, CDU member of the German Bundestag for the Hamburg-Wandsbek constituency

Courage is saying what is. And to be who you are. And to do what you think is necessary and right. That's brave.

It is hard to believe that in 2023 women will still have to break out of a society-defined role model in order to be able to work full-time. There are perceived and actual requirements and expectations of official and private roles, the perspective of others and above all your own.

Going into politics is not an easy step. As a Member of Parliament, I took on an important position, but it changed my life and that of my family and friends a lot. I gathered my courage and accepted the challenge. I hope that such a step will also become more natural and easier for others. Democracy, our social cohesion and the European idea deserve it. It takes people with courage to take action and shape things right now.

As women, we like to be perfect at work and at home. This is a tightrope act and can almost tear you apart. Then it takes courage to make compromises in the right place. We women can do a lot, but not everything. Anyone who can prioritize well and at the same time be kind to themselves and others is courageous. Changing and breaking up old role models takes practice, time and patience. Our expertise there enables us to help shape the future of society and to contribute our perspectives - as a woman, partner, mother, daughter, colleague, friend or supervisor.

As a woman, I don't just want to be "meant" or "think along with me".

Women bring so many important impressions and experiences with them to politics that they significantly broaden the range of activities in parliament and in dealing with citizens and contribute to a new way of forming opinions and solving problems. That's why we women have to take action now. This takes courage, regardless of age, background or status. Dare - it's worth it!

Glacier Kwong, Democrat activist

Hong Kongers who took to the streets despite the draconian laws imposed by the authoritarian government in Beijing were told that we were brave, honorable and noble. It's like we're superheroes who fear nothing - not even the possibility of either ending up in exile or in prison.

But courage is not the absence of fear. Courage means feeling fear and still making the right choice. Courage is a choice. Courage means believing that there are things that are more important than the fear we feel. But it comes at a price. It's a sacrifice, and for the Hong Kong community, it's a constant sacrifice.

This sacrifice isn't just for us, it's for you too. We're not just fighting for Hong Kong.

We fight for a way of life that you share and care about. Our loss is your loss too.

The fall of Hong Kong means more than just the spread of an authoritarian regime. It shows how your way of life is under threat. We are brave enough to do whatever it takes to make you wake up and see the threat posed by a brutal, expansionist, and highly strategic regime. We have given everything in the hope that this will help the world review its crackdown on the Chinese Communist Party.

Will the free world also be brave and respect human rights?

Balbina, German-Polish singer, composer and songwriter

If someone offered you the most luxurious life on Mars on the condition that you would never be able to connect with other people again, would you want to get on the rocket and live that life?

Who is actually we? A compound? a generation? Nations separated by borders, a certain group of people? We have learned to divide ourselves up, to put ourselves in drawers and forget: what makes us special is the community.

Heroes are courageous, but only relevant when they act in solidarity, in the we.

The We is much more than a living body, it is the promise of a changing collective. Beyond one's own ego, in the self-understanding of a finite existence. This thought alone requires courage, because it is an expression of unrestricted camaraderie, even after one's own death. Courageous thinking is also dealing with one's own death, because it is precisely in this transience that there is an opportunity for social growth and strength.

It is courageous to face one's own death mentally in order to give life to others, sometimes complete strangers, through organ donation through this confrontation. Sharing the most precious resources of an I with the We creates unconditional connection and confidence.

That is why I would like to use this text in gratitude and draw attention to all organ donors. Focus on the people who have been fighting for education on this topic for decades. Bravo, your courage moves mountains, you are true heroes for me.

Balbina supports the "Young Heroes" association, which has been educating people about organ donation for 20 years.

Julia von Heinz, German film director and screenwriter

I am writing these words at the Hilton Hotel in Auschwitz/Oswiecim. For three days we have been shooting scenes for my new feature film Iron Box at the Auschwitz II Birkenau subcamp. Writing about courage under the impression of this place means thinking about the people who were exposed to German crimes here on site.

Edek, whose true story we are filming, was separated from his loved ones as soon as he arrived here. He survived in a barracks just 50 meters from the gas chamber and crematorium from the two smoking chimneys in which hundreds of thousands of people were cremated, just hours after their arrival here. Above all, women, children and elderly people ran directly from the selection ramp into the gas chamber.

Edek, the real-life father of novelist Lily Brett, survived the camp and built a new life afterward with a lot of strength. A new family started. One can only imagine how much strength and courage that must have cost him. Germans sat in the watchtowers around the camp. They saw all of this up close. In the camp they practiced terror. The majority of Germans back home knew what was going on in the camps. Few had the courage to stand up to it.

Sudha David-Wilp has worked for the German Marshall Fund of the United States since 2011 as deputy head of the Berlin office

Women have made great strides in politics and have risen to the pinnacle of power on both sides of the Atlantic. They have courageously led the way and show their successors the way. The US Congress has the highest percentage of female MPs in history and the traffic light coalition was sworn in with a gender-balanced cabinet.

Despite these achievements, the path ahead will also require courage from the next generation of women leaders.

Because women at the top of politics and business are still exposed to a lot of hostility - whether online or in direct encounters. According to data from Princeton University, women civil servants in the United States were about 3.4 times more likely than men to be harassed or threatened in the past two years.

In the run-up to the general election, the “Alliance for Securing Democracy” described how then-candidate Annalena Baerbock became the target of disinformation. In an analysis of social media posts, the Institute for Strategic Dialog found that posts about Annalena Baerbock contained false information or conspiracy theories almost twice as often.

My work at the German Marshall Fund of the United States includes nurturing the next generation of women leaders and building networks among lawmakers. Despite the record number of women in parliament, finding women MPs willing to speak on foreign and security policy is still a challenge. We need more courageous women there in the future. Just as we continue to need many women who run for public office at all. This is the only way we can make leadership more female together.

Simone Menne, gallery owner and German manager, including CFO of Lufthansa AG and on the management board of Boehringer Ingelheim.

For me, courage means leaving the comfort zone and taking risks. In that sense, I've never really been brave myself. For me, the women in Iran and Belarus are courageous. They very consciously take a high risk to fight for their beliefs. They know about prison and the possibility of rape and torture.

Still, they keep going.

I regularly ask myself if I could and would do it. I do feel courageous when I publicly disagree with important people and thus take the risk of acting against the "mainstream". For me, courage does not necessarily mean taking risks in order to get a kick, for example when bungee jumping. That's ok and self-control, but not courage for me.

What is perhaps also important is what gives me courage, namely that there are these people who fight such battles and encourage me to go a little more in this direction. And for me that means not whining about a situation, but rather asking myself what contribution I can make to solving it, even if it gets uncomfortable.

Angela de Giacomo, Investmentchefin beim Evalue Family Office

"I would love to be a millionaire," sang Die Prinzen in the 90s. 30 years later, this desire is still modern. In my voluntary work, I meet ambitious young people. Many want to be “successful and get rich” as entrepreneurs. They definitely have one thing in common with the wealthy entrepreneurs around me: courage.

Ultimately, all fundamental knowledge and product innovations can be traced back to the tireless work of daring people. People who push boundaries on a mental or physical terrain and are spurred on by a creative energy. Courage helps them to carefully weigh their own abilities and consciously accept the dangers ahead. When courage is combined with entrepreneurial spirit, then successful management is often the result, which ultimately leads to prosperity.

This also applies to my current principal, Thomas Falk. He is a 43-year-old multiple founder. He built his first company parallel to his Abitur. He was considered a tech pioneer and ultimately Google acquired his first company. His intrepid personality is also reflected in his investment behavior. He belongs to a small circle of wealthy people who are making part of their capital available to young people as venture capital.

Bold (young) people who pursue their innovative ideas are important for a functioning, future-oriented society.

In order for them to be able to do this, courageous, wealthy families are needed to make (venture) capital available to them. If this cycle works, then everyone wins: the young brave, the established brave and society as the beneficiary of the realized visions and new insights.

Feiyu Xu has been senior vice president of artificial intelligence at the software group SAP SE since 2020

Sometimes, especially at certain stages of our lives, women's career development is more difficult than men's. But with courage and self-discipline you can also advance as a woman and achieve your dreams. It is important that girls are given the same support as boys in STEM education right from the start in order to gain the confidence to succeed in technical professions.

I was fortunate to be very gifted in math and science as a child - I was fascinated by numbers. In addition, I also liked languages. I fell in love with computational linguistics, which I use to shape my professional life. It combines my strengths in language, mathematics and computer science. All of this came very naturally to me. I have never felt different from other scientists, including male scientists. My curiosity about things and people has always helped me in my career. Working with artificial intelligence is great, exciting and keeps me on my toes every day.

We as women need to take good care of ourselves and listen to our own voice.

We are stronger than we think. We can achieve more achievements and enjoy more happiness. I want to encourage all women to pursue their dreams in technology. I can really recommend AI as a working environment. It will help us solve complex problems, make new discoveries, create more efficient processes, and improve our lives overall. Let's have the courage to do it.

Marion Ackermann, art historian, curator and museum director, has been the general director of the Dresden State Art Collection since 2016

I like the charge in medieval poetry as "hôher muot". This roughly meant that, following a basic ethical attitude, one stands up for something without fear. The freedom of art and science enshrined in the Basic Law or the freedom of conscience of the members of parliament are important to me. Fulfilling this freedom sometimes requires courage. For me personally they were always

Traits passion, tenacity and courage most important. I consciously enter situations that are absolutely new, challenging, risky and possibly filled with my own fears in order to sharpen my courage.

Lina Muzur, Publishing Director

It would be courageous if I canceled all appointments, if I flouted my commitments, booked a plane ticket that was far too expensive and landed in my hometown tonight.

If I ignored the scars of war and my obsessive thoughts about it, if this time I laughed while the taxi driver talked about his war injuries as if it were a joke, the taxi driver who would drive me to the hospital where I was at knocking on the door of your room, not crying at the sight of you and asking you to tell me about the old man at Gogol's again. That would be brave.

For what is courage but overcoming oneself.

Svenja Flaßpöhler, philosopher, journalist

Three criteria seem to me to be essential: Those who are courageous must first take a risk. No risk, no courage.

Second, as far as courage is concerned, this risk is taken in the service of something higher. This higher, however, must be socially recognized as a value; we don't call a suicide bomber who blows himself up for his god brave.

And third, the courageous person must have a keen awareness of the risks involved in an action; otherwise we would not speak of courage, but of recklessness. To me, courageous people are doers of conviction, in the spirit of what Michel Foucault calls “parrhesia”: they say what needs to be said, they commit themselves to the truth so badly that they risk death.

At the request of the authors, this text is partially gendered.

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