Category Archives: Gender Equality

“Women have their place in the world, but they do not belong in the Canyon of the Colorado.“

The Atavist Magazine: The Wild Ones. “People said that women had no place in the Grand Canyon and would likely die trying to run the Colorado River. In 1938, two female scientists set out to prove them wrong.”

“Not least among the journey’s many dangers, according to “experienced river men“ who refused to give their names to the national newspapers covering the expedition, was the presence of women in the party. Only one woman had ever attempted the trip through the Grand Canyon. Her name was Bessie Hyde, and she’d vanished with her husband, Glen, on their honeymoon in 1928. Their boat was found empty. Their bodies were never recovered.

Unnamed sources told reporters that the two women in the crew were “one of the hazards, as they are ‘so much baggage’ and would probably need help in an emergency.“ They were scientists—botanists, to be precise. “So they’re looking for flowers and Indian caves,“ a river runner said. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know they’ll find a peck of trouble before they get through.“

In fact, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter had come from Michigan with much hardier plants in mind. Tucked into side canyons, braving what Jotter called “barren and hellish“ conditions, were tough, spiny things: species of cactus that no one had ever catalogued before. Clover and Jotter would become the first people to do so—if they survived.”

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“Das ist das erste Mal, dass ich … nicht von anderen bestimmt lebe”

WDR Doku: Die älteste Studentin: Doktorarbeit mit 94 Jahren. (YouTube, 29min)

“Rosemarie Achenbach ist fleißig. Dieses Jahr soll sie fertig werden, ihre Doktorarbeit. Mit ihren 94 Jahren ist sie die älteste Studentin an der Uni Siegen. Sie schreibt sich 2004 ein und schafft in der Regelstudienzeit ihren Magister in Philosophie mit der Note “gut”. Die Urkunde hat sie in der Küche aufgehängt. Dadurch beflügelt, hat sie sich entschlossen, eine Doktorarbeit dranzuhängen. Das Thema: “Der Tod in der Philosophie”: Wie geht Sterben? Was kommt danach?”

Eine beeindruckende Frau, die geistig und körperlich fit geblieben ist. Hut ab!

“This is a discretionary act that you have to go in begging for. What we want is our constitutional right under Article 116.”

BBC News: The fight to get citizenship for descendants of German Jews. “A British lawyer is accusing the German government of violating the country’s constitution by refusing to restore the citizenship of thousands of people descended from victims of the Nazis. He argues that the law began to be misapplied under the lingering influence of former Nazis in the 1950s and 60s, and that it’s still being misapplied today.”

“How the German government interprets Article 116
Automatic right to citizenship is denied to people:

  • Born out of wedlock, before 1993, to a formerly German father with a foreign mother
  • Adopted by formerly German parents before 1977
  • Whose ancestor acquired foreign citizenship before being stripped of German citizenship
  • Born before 1 April 1953 to a formerly German woman (and a non-German man) who fled Germany before being stripped of citizenship
  • Born after 31 December 1999
  • Whose ancestors were Jewish members of German communities annexed by the Nazis during their military expansion, such as Danzig and Czechoslovakia (non-Jewish Germans in these areas were naturalised en masse, but Jews were not)”

    • I looked up Article 116 of the Basic Law (official translation):

    “[Definition of “German“ – Restoration of citizenship]
    […]
    (2) Former German citizens who, between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945, were deprived of their citizenship on political, racial or religious grounds and their descendants shall, on application, have their citizenship restored. They shall be deemed never to have been deprived of their citizenship if they have established their domicile in Germany after 8 May 1945 and have not expressed a contrary intention.”

    Grundgesetz Artikel 116

    “[…]
    (2) Frühere deutsche Staatsangehörige, denen zwischen dem 30. Januar 1933 und dem 8. Mai 1945 die Staatsangehörigkeit aus politischen, rassischen oder religiösen Gründen entzogen worden ist, und ihre Abkömmlinge sind auf Antrag wieder einzubürgern. Sie gelten als nicht ausgebürgert, sofern sie nach dem 8. Mai 1945 ihren Wohnsitz in Deutschland genommen haben und nicht einen entgegengesetzten Willen zum Ausdruck gebracht haben.”