Faces of Femi­nism III: The Defi­ni­tion of Freedom

During the project in Israel and Pales­tine our repor­ters had the chance to meet with diffe­rent women. Hanna Hörn­lein talked for example with a Bedouin woman and with an ultra-orthodox Jewish woman about their roles in society, their inter­ac­tions with men, and how they are able to express their indi­vi­dua­lity. Which influences shape their iden­tity? And how do we, as visi­tors, start reflec­ting on our own roles in this process?

Third Meeting: Eylül – The Defi­ni­tion of Freedom

The freedom of self-expres­sion is an essen­tial human right. Eylül Tufan, a young jour­na­list, talked with me about her expe­ri­ence of being a woman in Germany. I was wonde­ring if she feels that she can achieve ever­y­thing she wants – as a woman in the German society. ​„In general, yes, I want to believe it“ she says, ​„But as a woman you have more obsta­cles to over­come than men. And these obsta­cles are made by men.“ She compares the situa­tion in Israel and Pales­tine to the situa­tion in Germany, where – as she said – she lives freely and doesn’t need to fight for her basic rights.

When we talked about the concept of freedom and I asked her whether she is able to express herself, she said that she doesn’t feel limited, and added: ​„But I think it’s hard to compare,“ Eylül explains. Her parents origi­nally come from Turkey and she considers them to be very liberal. But she also says that there are also a lot of conser­va­tive fami­lies who don’t provide that much freedom to their daugh­ters. ​„I think the answer to the ques­tion of how free you can feel and express yourself is based on the scale you measure with.“

Espe­ci­ally the conver­sa­tion with Suheila, the Bedouin woman, and Tzipi Yarom, the Jewish ultra-orthodox woman, showed her how privi­leged she is, with regard to her self-reflec­tion as a woman in Germany. To see women fighting for their basic rights because men in their fami­lies forbid it, reminds her of her own freedom. She is glad to have the oppor­tu­ni­ties to see how diffe­rent life and social norms can be.

But she noticed also that we have to leave our ​„white bubble“, include women of color in the femi­nist discourse, and leave behind the so often quoted imagi­na­tion of the ​„repressed Arab woman“. ​„It’s about hearing the voices and opinions of others,“ she said.

In addi­tion to the portraits of diffe­rent women in Israel and Pales­tine, I thought it would be inte­res­ting and important to see the point of view of a German parti­ci­pant. How does she reflect on her role as a female in Germany after expe­ri­en­cing this journey?