The Long Struggle of Women

Why a Quota is Required

You were a Member of the Bundestag for a total of 19 years, with interruptions. What did you actually do to strengthen women’s political position both within and outside your party?

Nickels: The most effective political strategy – and this was a fundamental experience for me – is: whatever you realise is right for you, for which you make claims politically, must be implemented in your own organisation as far as possible. One of the Green Party’s greatest merits is the implementation of a minimum quota in their own party, i.e. gender parity in all offices and mandates. We women in the party fought very hard for this. Similar to the “Mothers of Germany’s Basic Law”, we laid the groundwork in society, organised general meetings for women in the various German states and discussed the “women’s statute”. This statute was introduced in 1986, making the minimum quota binding for the entire party. We also introduced childcare at party conventions and a women’s quota for speeches. And because we were consistent within our own structures and complied with the principle of parity at all levels, we showed that this is possible and leads to good results. Naturally, in the beginning, people laughed at us and called us the “quota women”, but as time went by, they began to respect us for our work performance.

Why is parity important?

Nickels: Because it has become apparent that women’s policy issues only have a chance to be implemented in parliaments if there are so many women in all of the parties there that they can achieve a majority across all parties, if necessary. Women are not the better people, but they are more than half the population, and a democracy is not complete as long as women are not equally represented in parliaments and cannot bring their deepest concerns, experiences and view of the world into parliaments in an authentic manner.

Lecture Tour to Japan

The political participation of women was also the topic of the lecture tour which brought you to Japan in April. In 2021, the percentage of women in the Japanese parliament was about ten per cent. What obstacles did local women talk about on their way into politics?

Nickels: Many of the women with whom I was able to speak are disillusioned with regard to their right to vote and the prerequisites for standing for election. They told me that it is normal in Japan to pay a deposit of about 15,000 euros if someone wants to stand as a candidate for election. If this person is not elected, the money is lost. Under these conditions, I would never have been able to become politically involved as a young woman, what with two small children and a new house to pay off. Nor do they receive financing for the parties, as we do in Germany. To make oneself known during an election campaign, a person must be able to mobilise a great deal of money, which is hardly manageable without networks, and this is what women often lack. My meeting with the “Chairman” of a cross-party parliamentary group, a man, was a bizarre but also very enlightening experience! It’s absurd that a women’s group is represented by a man, especially in such a culturally and economically leading country as Japan.

The lecture tour resulted from a film festival held by the Goethe Institute, at which the film mentioned above was also shown. How did the audience react to it?

Nickels: At the festival, the whole film was shown; excerpts were also shown at the Women’s University in Kyoto, Sophia University in Tokyo and other Japanese cities. The audiences consisted mainly of women. Everywhere, they reacted just like here in Germany: they laughed, applauded individual scenes and made enthusiastic comments in between. Once, there were even two older ladies who approached me in tears after the film to thank me. The discussions after the film also showed that the women were very moved. Almost all of them said that the film shows exactly what women in Japan are experiencing today. Many asked me for advice as to where they should begin, where they should find the courage to become more politically involved. The film had shown how much scorn and derision we women had had to put up with in parliament.

And what did you reply?

Nickels: One important approach is to network with civil society and work together on women’s policy issues across both milieus and parties even if, in the beginning, only three women meet in a café or at someone’s home and exchange their views on such issues. In a democracy, each and every person can make a difference, and this starts on a small scale.

Transforming Anger into Courage

Which moments or encounters during this journey have stayed in your mind?

Nickels: On the one hand, I found the enthusiasm of the Japanese women very moving. Their longing to become full citizens in their society and assist in shaping the development of their country reminded me very much of the early stages in my political career and how we women in the Green Party managed to transform our anger over the injustice into courage. The meetings with survivors from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima were also very moving. I was able to lay a personal wreath at the foot of the Peace Monument. At a time when there is once again the threat of nuclear weapons, this was a very touching moment for me.