The majority of women in Germany see no equality

According to a survey, almost three quarters of women in Germany feel that women and men do not have equal rights. This is the result of a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov published on Wednesday. According to this, a total of 62 percent of those surveyed do not believe “that men and women in Germany currently have the same rights and the same status in society and are treated equally in every respect”. Among women, the proportion was 73 percent, while among men it was 48 percent.

The respondents perceived particularly large differences at the workplace. Here 61 percent did not see women and girls as equal or not at all equal. A total of 2170 people in Germany were interviewed for the representative survey by YouGov.

Wednesday is International Women's Day. The day aims to draw attention to the oppression and unequal treatment of women and girls around the world. The United Nations is addressing women's rights abuses in Afghanistan, Iran and many other countries in a two-week session of the UN Commission on Women's Rights. At the start, UN Secretary-General António Guterres complained on Tuesday that real equality between women and men was "still 300 years away".

The situation in Afghanistan is of particular concern, where the radical Islamic Taliban largely ban women and girls from public life. On Tuesday, the EU for the first time imposed targeted sanctions for violence against women, which are aimed at the Taliban and Russian military and police officers who, among other things, have suppressed women's protests against the Ukraine war.

The Development Ministry has pledged a contribution of 26 million euros to the UN Women's Organization (UN Women) for 2023. This is almost twice as much as two years ago, the ministry announced on Wednesday. "Feminist development policy is not just a question of justice, but also a requirement of reason: women are strong, women have innovative ideas, women have knowledge," said department head Svenja Schulze, according to a statement available to the German Press Agency.

"If women have equal rights and bear the same responsibility, there will be less poverty, less hunger and more stability in the world." Last week, the SPD politician and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) presented concepts for a feminist foreign and development policy.

The director of UN Women, Sima Bahous, said it was a record contribution to the organization. It is concrete proof of the German government's commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of women and girls everywhere.

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