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Angela Byrne, historian: "There is a great thirst for knowledge about female Irish history." Photos: Mareike Graepel

History’s heroines
Ireland celebrates its female past

Ireland is rediscovering its women. A trendy night club recalls historical figures, an exhibition shows Irish heroines and a TV series highlights trailblazing women of past centuries. The country is looking back to its past to strengthen its female future.  

 

29. November 2020
Mareike Graepel Haltern
Caoimhe O'Connell works for the "Dublin Simon Community", that provide emergency shelter and medical care. Photos: Mareike Graepel

Female, Irish, homeless
More homeless women than anywhere else in Europe

There is no stereotype of the Irish homeless woman – she is young or slightly older, educated or without a leaving certificate, healthy or sick. The “careers” of those living on the streets of Dublin are very individual. But much more often than in the rest of Europe their stories are female. 41 percent of the homeless in Ireland are women.

 

3. August 2020
Mareike Graepel Haltern
Women have been involved in protest movements in Lebanon for long time. Foto: Ali Hashisho

„The streets belong to us!“
The revolution in Lebanon is feminine

Women are the heart of the protests in Lebanon. They stir up the crowd with megaphones, stand up to police officers, and encourage their children to take to the streets against corrupt politicians.

 

15. Februar 2020
Julia Neumann Beirut
On March 8, 2019 in Barcelona, thousands demonstrated for equal rights on International Women’s Day. Photo: Ajuntament Barcelona

Machismo in the hot seat
Emancipation in Spain

Spain is being hit with a “tsnuami of feminism” with its government having far more female state ministers than anywhere else in Europe. Despite this, the road to equality moves slowly with mothers being especially disadvantaged.

 

15. November 2019
Christine Memminger Barcelona
Bodyguard Lisa Baldwin makes sure that celebrities do not get hurt. Photos: Mareike Graepel

„I like to stay in control“
Lisa Baldwin is a bodyguard for high-profile clients

Nicole Kidman prefers one, J.K. Rowling and Diana Ross have one. Duchess Kate and even her husband Prince William. Not the same designer handbag – but a female bodyguard. Lisa Baldwin works in Ireland, Great Britain and beyond. 

 

21. September 2019
Mareike Graepel Haltern
Victoria Marschuk is a six-time reigning world champion and three-time European champion in para taekwondo. Photos: Eva Steinlein

Disabilities without hinderance
Inclusion in Ukraine

In Ukraine, those with a disability are still being pushed to the margins of society. Young women in particular are pushing back and in so doing, they are creating a new generation of role models.

 

8. August 2019
Eva Steinlein Hamburg
The trash Shia Su produces in one year fits in one mason jar. Photos: Mareike Graepel

Living Without Waste
One activist’s story on how to live the zero waste way

One year of trash in one little jar! How is that even possible? For the last three years, Shia Su has consistently lived waste-free and explains how to do it on her website and in her book. For her, it’s important to influence others by putting a positive spin on the so-called zero waste concept.

 

27. Juni 2019
Mareike Graepel Haltern
Olga Lucía Álvarez at a house mass - she fights for equal rights in the Catholic Church. Photos: Katharina Wojczenko

A Woman of God
The first female catholic priest in Latin America

As a child, Olga Lucía Álvarez would play pretend procession and reenact mass services with her siblings. Despite resistance from the official church in Rome, the 77-year-old Colombian woman was ordained the first female catholic priest and bishop in Latin America.

 

22. April 2019
Katharina Wojczenko Bogota
Auch die 16-jährige Klima-Aktivistin Greta Thunberg aus Schweden ist eine der "Schwestern Europas".

Sisters of Europe

Sisters of Europe is a thrilling new project that empowers and connects women across Europe through inspiring stories from 17 countries, four public Agoras in Berlin, Paris, Warsaw and Athens and a political action.

 

10. April 2019
Prune Antoine Berlin
Rita Vassena researches fertility issues in Barcelona, ​​gives talks and wants to enlighten. Fotos: Christine Memminger

Questions of fertility mean everything and nothing
Egg donations for women on the path to motherhood

Artificial insemination by a female egg donation is banned in Germany. For Rita Vassena and her team in Barcelona, it is routine. Many German women come to her clinic looking for help, women who are otherwise not able to become mothers.

 

11. März 2019
Christine Memminger Barcelona
Photo: European Parliament

Comments and Cat Videos
The EU parliament and their social media team

Who responds to messages when someone writes the European parliament on Facebook? Karolina Wozniak from Poland and her team. Europe as a topic is near and dear to her and communication is her passion.

 

28. Dezember 2018
Franziska Broich Brüssel
Photos: Benoît Granier

Forthcoming over modesty
France’s topmost feminist

Marlène Schiappa is the secretary of state for equality, which on paper, makes her France’s highest-ranking feminist. Her main objective above all else is to fight against sexual harassment in public as well as improving the cohesiveness of family and career for women. These problems are near and dear to the 35-year-old who has experienced them herself.  

 

3. November 2018
Carolin Küter Lyon
The factory "Finespinners" is the most modern production facility in Uganda. Photos: Simone Schlindwein

Fashion opens up new job opportunities
Used clothes from Europe no longer wanted

Starting end of 2018, it will no longer be permitted to import old clothes to East Africa. With this new development, countries in the region want to encourage their own textile industries. Seamstresses in Uganda are happy about the news. Through this, the fashion industry can provide more employment opportunities for women to be self-employed or to find work in factories.

 

28. September 2018
Simone Schlindwein Kampala
Maram Alharbi is glad about her new job in the medical center of the Saudi port of Jeddah. Photos: Virginia Kirst

Between Oppression and Freedom
Women in Saudi Arabia

Women in Saudi Arabia will be granted more rights in the future. The sudden change of rhetoric of crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman is driven by economic interests, but this is of little importance to women. They are happy to have more freedoms, and the startup “Glowork” is ready to help them.

 

20. Juli 2018
Virginia Kirst Rom
Fatima Nazari dreams of international competitions and of being one day at the Olympics. Photo: Veronika Eschbacher

The Queen of Skiing from Bamiyan
Afghan women discover winter sports

Fatima Nazari is the fastest skier in Afghanistan. She has won the “Afghan Ski Challenge” twice now in the Bamiyan province. The path that brought her to this point, and her goal to take part in the Olympics, was and still is challenging. In her hometown at the base of the Hindu Kusch mountain range, skiing is still in its early stages with basic infrastructure lacking such as ski lifts and groomed trails. Moreover, the financial funding for professional sports

 

25. Juni 2018
Veronika Eschbacher Kabul
Photos: private

„The Revolution Has Helped the Women“
Women’s Rights in Egypt

Egyptian women’s rights activist, author and movie maker Alexandria Kinias (53) grew up in Cairo. Today she lives in the U.S. Two years ago she founded the online magazine „Women of Egypt“ to open the debate about sensitive women’s rights issues and to give young women a voice. 

 

17. Mai 2018
Mareike Enghusen Tel Aviv
“Instead of defining, who does the job, there needs to more focus on what kind of job you do,” says Agnès Godard. Photo: Peter Himsel

Let more women make our films!
Why women in front of and behind the camera are demanding a quota

Film and television shape our worldview. However, the stories and pictures are often loaded with stereotypes. Recent studies show that women in movies have little say in their own profession. In Germany, a new initiative is emerging that aims for more equality and a 50 percent quota in all German film industries.

 

27. April 2018
Helen Hecker Palermo / Berlin
Teresa comes from Benin City, Nigeria, and lights a fire with some wet branches. Photos: Helen Hecker

From Refugee to Sex Slave
How African women are propelled into prostitution

Sex work provided by Nigerian refugees is thriving as a business in Sicily. In retaliation, a group of former prostitutes from Benin City is fighting the exploitation of girls and want to offer them new perspectives.  

 

26. Februar 2018
Helen Hecker Palermo / Berlin
Photo: Veronika Eschbacher

The Trumpettes
How women rally for the President of the United States

It has been 12 months since Donald Trump became President of the United States. Despite having low popularity ratings, Trump’s base still stands behind him. Toni Holt Kramer makes up part of that. She leads the ‘Trumpettes’, a well-to-do group of mainly affluent women who support the President’s agenda between their cruise ship tours and cocktail parties.

 

22. Januar 2018
Veronika Eschbacher Los Angeles / Kabul
For the street artist Magdalena Cañas aka MAIDA K art is always a political tool. Photos: private

A Big Girl
Portrait of a Chilean street artist

25-year-old Magdalena Cañas wants to shake people out of their daily grind with her street art murals. For her, art is a social responsibility that should make others feel strong and confident, even spark a resistance. Her favourite subject is a giant girl.

 

27. November 2017
Sophia Boddenberg Santiago de Chile
Photos: Priyanka Borpujari

Constant struggle in the life of India’s Dalit
Portrait of 62-year-old Ahire from Mumbai

62-year-old Ahire identifies as a Dalit – formerly known as India’s “Untouchables”. Dalits take filthy and often dangerous jobs that have made Ahire’s life a constant struggle despite reforms pointing towards a less dim future.

 

12. November 2017
Priyanka Borpujari Mumbai
Batoul Muhannad learned to defend herself. Nowadays she gives trainings for women in kickboxing. Photos: SheFighter

Defense Ready
A Jordanian woman teaches women to fight

Lina Khalifeh founded Jordan’s first self-defense studio for women. First and foremost, she teaches martial arts courses, but also offers discussion-enriched seminars to teach women to stand up for their rights with words and, when necessary, their fists.

 

21. September 2017
Mareike Enghusen Tel Aviv
Photo: Paul Sunday Photography

Middle fingers up!
A Fat Femme on the recapturing of your own body

The American yoga scene is dominated by white, athletic women. Jessamyn Stanley, the Afro-American yoga instructor who describes herself as ‘Fat Femme’, is breaking all the stereotypes. The Instagram star is part of the ‘Body-Positivity-Movement’ that has captured the United States.

 

2. September 2017
Veronika Eschbacher Kabul