!Before I begin, I'd like to issue a trigger warning. My speech mentions sexual violence, rape, harassment, and murder.!
"Feminism today is cancer, and feminists are all horrible and ugly," says Maximilian Krah.
Here are a few more AfD quotes from interviews, party conferences, or social media:
"Hopefully, a black man will one day really take you on without you wanting it. Then maybe you'll become sane." (Andy Schöngarth)
"A country that lets everyone in is just as respected as a woman who lets everyone in." (Johannes Normann)
"I still believe (....) that women are less suited to politics because they are a bit more emotional than men," says Nikolaus Kramer, while a woman represents the AfD in the Bundestag and supporters of the political party are upset about motifs on cheese packages and want to boycott them. Well, what should I say about that...
Even in the AfD's election manifesto and the content it contains, the misogyny doesn't stop there; no, it's made even clearer.
Here, for example, we find an image that shows how the AfD imagines a woman who fits into their distorted worldview. A traditional housewife, loves her family and her homeland, naturally raises and cares for her children, and lives primarily for them. Raising and educating children is her primary duty, loves her husband, and has a healthy ego, whatever that means. The whole thing is made clearer by the following quote:
"Every woman can do what she wants. On average, however, she has to have two children. That's easier without a full-time job." Says Andreas Wild, a man who can't even imagine how painful and difficult childbirth is and what consequences it can have for the person giving birth. A man who says that a woman who can't or doesn't want to have children is worthless, is spreading a massively outdated image of women. It shows that the AfD instrumentalizes women and sees them only as birthing machines, instead of perceiving them as human beings with feelings and a right to self-determination.
The double standard, however, is that the AfD simultaneously wants to "protect women." What should this so-called protection look like? For example, abolish the Self-Determination Act so that no man can pretend to be a woman and make female safe spaces like restrooms and changing rooms unsafe. Well, AfD, I don't see the problem here with queer people whose lives are only made easier; no, I see the problem with the men who exploit this. And if you cared about women's safety as much as you pretend, why don't you advocate for proper safety for women? One approach would be to believe women who have experienced violence at the hands of men and to fairly convict the perpetrators. Because it's definitely not fair if someone gets two years for tax evasion and a rapist gets released on parole. Comparing these two crimes alone is dubious, but punishing a crime that affects the woman for lifetime or even kills her after the crime less than if the state doesn't get its money is inhumane. It gets even worse when you consider the reasons given for acquitting those convicted. But the AfD doesn't care about that, or rather, it seems as if party members even support this approach.
Dubravko Mandic of the AfD, for example, said: "Rape doesn't occur independently of sexual stimuli, and those were present here. People aren't always in control of their urges."
But clothing isn't an invitation, a yes, and above all, a justification. Babies, children, unconscious and dead people, and even animals are also raped. Where could there have been any sexual stimuli? And if there are any for some people, the problem isn't with the baby, the child, or the animal. It's fundamentally never with the victim; it's with the perpetrator. Ever heard of consent? No means no, only yes means yes! And making such statements, in my opinion, is nothing more than pure perpetrator protection and solidarity with the perpetrator.
But the AfD has another ultimate solution to all problems, especially with regard to women's safety: deport all foreigners, because they are, as we know, the problem, or so the AfD claims. It's the evil foreigners who harass and rape women on the street. I can only say the following from my own experience:
It's not migrants I'm afraid of. It's 63-year-old Harald, who half-undresses me with his gaze on the train and grabs his crotch. It's 45-year-old Jakob, who follows me to the train at night. It's my partner who persuades me to have sex. It's the nice-looking man in a club, who bought me a drink and then invited me over because I owed him something. It's one of my friends who sexualizes me and reduces me to my body. It's the German father who catcalled and honked at me from his car while his wife sat next to him. It's my own father who forced me to sleep with him as a child, even though I didn't even know what that meant. It's 30-year-old Thomas who touched me against my will while I was sleeping and then persuaded me to have sex with him another day. And yes, they could be migrants, but it has nothing to do with them not being German. I'm not afraid of origins; I'm afraid of men.
Not all of the situations mentioned above have happened to me. But almost every woman has experienced at least one of them in one way or another. All of these are experiences, ideas, and stories that frighten me, that make me run faster at night, keys in my hand. And yes, it's not all men, I don't want to claim that, and I also want to emphasize that such things don't only happen to women, and that male victims have as much right for Justice. But it mostly happens to women, the perpetrator is almost always a man, and it could be anyone. A stranger, a friend, one's own father.
A quick comparison: Being afraid of a shark attack is completely understandable, the fear of men is seen as exaggerated, unrealistic, and hysterical, violence against women and femicide are often dismissed as isolated incidents.
In direct comparison: a shark attack occurs with a probability of 1 in 3.7 million and is often described as an isolated incident. But one in three women has already experienced sexual or physical violence, 25% of women have experienced it in a relationship, and two in three women have been sexually harassed. And according to some statistics, the number of unreported cases of such cases is significantly higher. But clearly, these are all isolated incidents.
So much for protecting women...
But the AfD isn't just misogynistic when it comes to safety. It goes even further. To clarify, here's another quote:
"I see the distribution of menstrual products to women as similar to giving alcoholics alcohol and smokers cigarettes" (Josef Burkart)
Yes, of course, Mr. Burkart, every menstruating person is addicted to bleeding for 5-7 days every month, sometimes experiencing severe pain, often accompanied by headaches and backaches, circulatory problems, nausea, vomiting, and even brief loss of consciousness. And for a natural bodily process, menstruators have to spend a ton of money on painkillers, sanitary pads, tampons, and other individually necessary aids. Smoking and drinking alcohol are a choice; it's a luxury that doesn't need to be able to afford. But menstrual products are essential for a menstruating person, and there are far too many people who struggle financially because of them.
Furthermore, the symptoms of menstruating women are sometimes so severe that they can't go to work, and it's often dismissed with "don't be like that." I find that incredibly cheeky, because such statements often come from people who have never experienced menstruation in their lives. If they knew what a person has to endure, in addition to the described symptoms, plus stupid comments like "you're so exhausting, is it your period?" or "your hormones must be going crazy again," they wouldn't talk like that. And I believe that if men menstruated or knew what it felt like, menstrual products would have been free a long time ago, and there would be an extra three days' vacation a month if necessary. So, if you, dear AfD, care so much about women, then you should reconsider your election platform!
But, unfortunately, menstrual products aren't the only expense that menstruating people often have to bear. Contraceptives and the morning-after pill are also usually very expensive and often a woman's problem in society, which it shouldn't be! It always takes at least two, so it should be shared fairly!
Another cost and a major controversial issue is abortion. The AfD, too, shows how little they care about women's well-being on this issue. According to Paragraph 218, abortion is illegal, but remains unpunished under certain circumstances, for example if accomplished until 12th week oft pregnancy.
The election manifesto states the following on this topic:
"The right to life is a fundamental human right. Without this right, no other human right can be exercised. Through fertilization, the egg cell develops into a human embryo. However, the unborn child's right to life is diametrically opposed to the mother's wish for abortion (i.e., exactly the opposite). When carefully weighing the interests, abortion must remain the absolute exception, e.g., in cases of criminological or medical indication." (AfD Bundestag election platform 2025)
I also believe that abortion should only be considered in an emergency. For example, if a person with an uterus is unintentionally pregnant, regardless of the circumstances.
I know that many people at pro-life demonstrations always argue that abortion is murder. Legally speaking, however, murder requires the killing of a human being, taking into account at least one characteristic of murder. A person is a human being from the moment the fetus leaves the uterus. Femicide is murder. An abortion is a pregnant person's right to self-determination.
Regarding counter-demonstrations for abortion, I would like to quote Gregor Gysi from the political Party Die Linke:
"There is a women's right, that is not a men's right, that is the right to abortion. And it's outrageous that so many men are always freaking out at all the rallies against it. They can't even imagine the situation of an unwanted pregnancy, so they should just shut up for once."
Unfortunately, the entire topic of feminism is far too large and complex to be fully covered in one speech. But the fight for self-determination is a fight for human rights, which the AfD is actively pursuing policies against. That's why I'm standing here, that's why we're all standing here today, to show the misogynistic AfD that we don't want unity with a contemptuous party. Our unity is solidarity, diverse, anti-fascistic, and feministic.
I believe that if these were all problems that predominantly affected men, solutions would have been found long ago. This shows who most parties are pursuing politics for and how misogynistic society still is in 2025, and that we still need feminism and must fight for it.
Finally, I would like to summarize: It doesn't matter whether it's about abortion, physical contact, or clothing choices. I alone have the right to decide and determine what happens to my body. My Body, My Choice.
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