Terre des Femmes (French, translation: Women's Earth) is a German non-profit-organisation committed to human rights for girls and women. The vision of the organisation is a world in which all people are equal, independent and free, irrespective of their gender. Since its formation in 1981, Terre des Femmes has grown into one of the largest women's rights organisations in Germany with over 2000 members. The national headquarter's work in Berlin is supported by over 20 local volunteer groups across Germany.

Objectives

Terre des femmes strives for international networking with other women's rights organizations, supports women in consulting, and supports projects, organisations and initiatives by women for women from abroad. They fight against female genital mutilation, violence in the name of honour (

forced marriage Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...

honour killing An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...

), trafficking in women,

forced prostitution Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" appea ...

and sexual and domestic violence.

History

An article in

Brigitte magazine Brigitte is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Brigitte Amm, German rower * Brigitte Bardot (born 1934), a French actress and singer * Brigitte Becue (born 1972), a Belgian breaststroke swimmer * Brigitte Bierlein (bo ...

about violence against women and

honor killings An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...

in the Middle East prompted journalist Ingrid Staehle and a group of women in Hamburg to take action. The article was based on a documentary entitled Princesses mortes published by the Swiss human rights organization Sentinelles. During a visit to the Lausanne-based organization, the idea was born to found an association based on the human rights organization

Terre des hommes Terre des hommes, also Terre des Hommes (''Land of People'' or ''Land of Men''), is an international children's rights charitable humanitarian umbrella organization under the aegis of the International Federation of Terre des Hommes (TDHIF), wit ...

under the name Terre des Femmes ('Women's Earth') with the subtitle Human rights for women. In July 1981 Terre des femmes was entered in the register of associations of the city of Hamburg. Other early founders of Terre des Femmes were the historian Herta Haas and the American literary scholar

Tobe Levin Tobe Levin Freifrau von Gleichen (born February 16, 1948), a multi-lingual scholar, translator, editor and activist, is an Associate of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University; a Visiting Research Fellow ...

. A Swiss branch of the group was founded in November 2003. Both clubs are independent organisations. Terre des Femmes is a member of

ECPAT ECPAT International is a global network of civil society organisations that works to end the sexual exploitation of children. It focuses on ending the online sexual exploitation of children, the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, the se ...

. The group is financed by donations, corporate partnerships, grants from multiple institutions and foundations and membership fees. Over 3,500 members and patrons participate in this organization.

Yearly events

One of their events is "FrauenWelten" (Women's Worlds), which is an annual film festival held in Tübingen. Another yearly event is their "flag campaign", which is a nationwide initiative that takes place on 25 November which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Criticism

The organisation has received criticism for its anti-transgender views based on an open letter that was also signed by one board member. As response, the German journalist and feminist activist Sibel Schick has criticized Terre des Femmes for being

transphobic Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...

and racist. On June 17, 2020 the board members publicy apologizsed and distanced themselves from signing the letter stating that it was also never intended as official statement of the organisation.

References

External links

Official website

Terre des Femmes - Menschenrechte für die Frau E.V. - About Us.
{{Authority control Organizations established in 1981 Women's organisations based in Germany Women's organisations based in Switzerland