Women's Association Courage

Wuppertal, Holsteiner Str. 28, seat of the office

The women's association Courage e. V. ( French for "courage") is a nationwide German women's organization based in Wuppertal, which claims to be committed to equal rights for women. It was founded in 1991 on the initiative of the MLPD . The protection of the constitution, which previously listed courage in their reports, no longer mentioned the association in 2018 and 2019. The exception is Bavaria, which in its constitutional protection report classifies Courage as a left-wing extremist organization. In the 2019 report it is stated that the MLPD with the “Frauenverband Courage e. V. “try to bind women to yourself.

profile

The association was founded on February 16, 1991 by 63 women in Gelsenkirchen . The women's association is committed to equal rights and the liberation of women. In 2007 he supported the call to ban the NPD now! the association of those persecuted by the Nazi regime - Association of Antifascists . The self-portrayal of Courage names the “four pillars” of the association's work: combative interest representation, education, help and advice, culture.

Four principles are emphasized:

• He describes himself as non-partisan .
• The opinion-forming process is based on a broad exchange of ideas and opinion-forming at the grassroots level. The board is seen in the role of a consultant and supporter in decided projects.
• The association strives for an international orientation. He takes the position that social and patriarchal oppression can only be successfully countered internationally, since production and trade are also organized internationally and related problems such as exploitation , environmental destruction and human rights violations take place globally.
• The association emphasizes its financial independence.

structure

Courage is a nationwide women's association with state associations and local groups in more than 50 cities. The federal office is based in Wuppertal . The highest body is the federal delegates' assembly, which meets every three years. It is quorate if at least 50% of the members are represented by federal delegates. The elected federal board represents the association between the federal delegate assemblies. Membership numbers are not mentioned. Women of Courage participate in International Women's Day activities on March 8th. The women's association publishes the Courage newspaper every two months ; this is not related to the feminist women's magazine Courage of the same name, which was published until 1984 . The association maintains a courage center in Essen, Wuppertal and Gelsenkirchen. The program is primarily aimed at women and includes communicative and creative offers, educational events and advice on various topics from specialist women.

history

Monika Gärtner-Engel, deputy chairwoman of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD) and ex-wife of long-time MLPD chairman Stefan Engel , was a member of the first Courage board, from 1992 as spokeswoman. She worked on the 10-point program of the women's association and represented the association Courage in 1995 as a delegate at the forum of non-governmental organizations on the occasion of the UN World Women's Conference in Beijing.

Assessment of the constitution protection authorities

In the list of extremist or extremist-influenced organizations of the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, the women's association Courage is listed as left-wing extremist. In Bavaria, applicants for the public service must indicate whether they belong to the women's association Courage. The North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Interior estimated in 2009 that the club was dominated by the MLPD. In the 2018 report for the protection of the constitution in North Rhine-Westphalia, the women's association Courage was no longer listed by name. In 2004, the protection of the constitution in Lower Saxony referred to the association as a preliminary organization of the MLPD. The women's association Courage is not listed in the Lower Saxony constitution protection report from 2019. According to the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Baden-Württemberg , the MLPD exercised a “considerable influence” in 2007 on the “formally independent and non-partisan” women's association. The women's association Courage is not mentioned in the 2018 report for the protection of the constitution in Baden-Württemberg. The 2002 report on the protection of the constitution of the state of Brandenburg classified the women's association Courage as a women's organization of the MLPD. The women's association Courage is not listed in the Brandenburg Constitutional Protection Report 2018. The 2014 edition of the 18th Fundamental Rights Report leads a critical discussion on the role of the protection of the constitution against the women's association Courage. The report explains how a broad campaign by around 180 organizations opposed the attempt to amend the 2013 Annual Tax Act. It was about whether the Office for the Protection of the Constitution can give a direct and irrefutable decision on the non-profit status of associations. The federal government did not pursue this project any further. However, since 2009 the constitutional protection authorities have had a say in the award of non-profit status. The women's association Courage achieved partial success in regaining its non-profit status after the Elberfeld tax office had revoked the association's non-profit status in 2012. The reason was based on contacts with left-wing extremist groups. The Düsseldorf Finance Court did not follow this line of argument and in January 2020 reassigned the association to its non-profit status for 2010 and 2011.

Web links

• courage

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Patrick Moreau , Jürgen P. Lang : Left extremism: an underestimated danger, p. 298
2. ↑ ^{a b} Bavaria Law: Directory of extremist or extremist-influenced organizations
3. ^ Constitutional Protection Report Bavaria, 2019
4. ↑ Courage Center Essen
5. ↑ Campaign NPD ban now! 2007 of the VVN-BdA ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ Self-illustration by the women's association Courage
7. ^ Website of the Courage Center in Essen
8. ↑ The curriculum vitae of Monika Gärtner-Engel on her website ( memento of the original from January 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed February 15, 2017) 
9. ↑ Questionnaire to check the loyalty to the constitution for applicants in the public service in Bavaria (PDF)
10. ↑ Questionnaire of the Bavarian Forest Administration (PDF)
11. ^ Ministry of the Interior of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia ( Memento from June 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
12. ↑ Constitutional Protection Report NRW 2018
13. ^ Constitutional Protection Report Lower Saxony 2004 ( Memento from May 5, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
14. ^ Constitutional Protection Report Lower Saxony 2019
15. ↑ Archived version of the Baden-Württemberg State Office for the Protection of the Constitution ( Memento from July 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
16. ^ Constitutional Protection Report Baden-Württemberg 2019
17. ↑ Constitutional Protection Report 2002 Land Brandenburg (PDF; 2 MB)
18. ↑ Brandenburg Constitutional Protection Report, 2018
19. ↑ 18th Fundamental Rights Report 2014. On the situation of civil and human rights in Germany, Frankfurt / M. 2014
20. ↑ Hannah Florian: Women's Association Courage: "We don't let our principles buy off" In: Wuppertaler Rundschau . February 16, 2020, wuppertaler-rundschau.de, accessed on June 1, 2020
21. ↑ Radio Wuppertal : Judgment in favor of the women's association Courage of February 4, 2020, accessed on June 1, 2020.