Annalena Baerbock presents a concept for feminist politics – “not a nice-to-have”

Berlin. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) want to do more for women’s rights in the future – especially when it comes to representing Germany abroad. “We’re not declaring a revolution today, we’re doing something that goes without saying,” said Baerbock on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting in Berlin when the concepts for feminist foreign policy were presented.

With feminist foreign and development policy, you are only implementing what the Basic Law and the Declaration of Human Rights provide for anyway – the equality of people and their equal rights to representation and access to resources, the Greens politician explained.

Baerbock: Feminist foreign policy is not a “nice-to-have”

The Foreign Minister drew attention to the guidelines. First of all, the feminist policy of her house is “no nice-to-have, no bow on top”. Rather, it runs through “all areas of our political activity”. Her ministry is pursuing a pragmatic approach. The minister explained that the aim was to tackle the “completely normal problems of completely normal people”.

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As an example, Baerbock mentioned the reconstruction of a village in Nigeria. When planning the sanitary facilities, they would probably be placed on the outskirts of the settlement with a view to odor development. “But it makes a difference to ask yourself: who actually lives in the village?” says Baerbock. So if you think about what the position of the systems means for a ten-year-old child or a woman in view of the security situation, you would probably plan them more centrally, explained the Green politician.

However, one is not naïve: “We will not be able to solve all the problems in the world,” stressed Baerbock. However, based on the guidelines, one will “take a closer look” – also when it comes to crises and conflicts in the world. This also means investing funds used by the federal government “more efficiently”.

Annalena Baerbock (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, l.), Foreign Minister, talks to Svenja Schulze (SPD, r.), Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Claudia Roth (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Minister of State for Culture and Media, before the start of the cabinet meeting in the Federal Chancellery.

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© Source: Michael Kappeler/dpa

Schulze: “Can’t do without half of the potential – the women”

According to Development Minister Schulze, the feminist policy in her department should ensure more just societies worldwide. We want to fight hunger and poverty. “But we can’t do without half of the potential – the women -” explained Schulze. In doing so, she pointed out that many women in some countries cannot determine their rights and, for example, own land.

As an example, Schulze cited the promotion of a water system in the Zambian capital Lusaka by the Development Ministry. For the first time, women were involved in the planning. A system was created that benefits all households. Schulze also cited Colombia as another example, where women play a central role in the peace process that has been running since 2016.

Schulze had already defended the concept for a stronger feminist policy in her ministry on Wednesday morning. It is known that societies with more equality have less to struggle with hunger or poverty and are more stable, said the SPD politician in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”. “And that’s why it’s just a matter of common sense that in development policy, special attention is paid to ensuring that women also have rights, that they have resources and that they are also represented,” said Schulze. It is about making women visible as the strong force in society that they are.

In the foreword to the 80-page catalog with guidelines for a feminist foreign policy, Baerbock writes that women’s rights are an indicator of the state of society. The concept is an integral part of value-based foreign policy and should also be reflected in the planned national security strategy “in the sense of a comprehensive understanding of security”. From the summer onwards, an “Ambassador of the Federal Foreign Office for Feminist Foreign Policy” should primarily work internally.

The guidelines for a feminist development policy stipulate that more than 90 percent of newly committed project funds should flow into projects that also promote equality. In 2021 it was about 64 percent.

RND/sic/dpa