The women´s role in Germany

 

For centuries, a woman's role in German society was summed up and circumscribed by the three "K" words: Kinder (children), Kirche (church), and Küche (kitchen).

In XX century, women have won equal rights and in 1919 they won the right of vote. The world war II affected to German´s women because they took the positions held by men.


Women started to have economic responsabilities. The government gave them educational and vocational oportunities. A system of social supports such as a day-care network for children was put in place to permit women to be both, mothers and workers. About 90% of german women worked outside the home.


Women also made gains in education. They accounted for about half of all secondary school graduates who had prepared to study at institutes of higher learning. In 1975, they were in the majority with 53%.

In politics in the 1990s the most successful woman is Rita Süssmuth, president of the Bundestag.  Following the assassination of Detlev Rohwedder in 1991, Birgit Breuel assumed the leadership, the powerful agency charged with privatizing the former East German economy.  Some people weren't agreed with that protagonism of the woman and a magazine chose 100 most powerful people in Germany included only four women.

                                   

One of the most important issues was abortion in 1990s, there were about 125,000 registered abortions performed in Germany in 1991.  For a time following unification, the restrictive western and permissive eastern legislation on abortion continued in force.

In June 1992 the Bundestag voted to ease abortion restrictions and to permit the procedure during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy with compulsory counselling.

Feminist and Women's Rights Activist.