The Unbendables: A documentary Film about Women in Politics

 

Yesterday I saw a movie about women in politics in the early days of the Federal Republic of Germany. In the post-war period, politics were completely in the hands of men. The movie showed Herbert von Karajan directing an all-male philharmonic orchestra interspersed with photos of black and white photos of groups of all-male politicians. These impressions hit home and will not be soon forgotten. However, some women were convinced that democracy needs to represent more than half the population. The 28 female representatives in the first parliament (1949-1953) made up 6,8% of the legislative body. It was only in 1987 that the percentage topped made double digits with 15,4%.

The documentary movie used original film material and retrospective comments by the pioneering women themselves to show what it was like to be a parliamentarian in the male-dominated culture of the time. A clip from that time showed a couple sitting down to dinner with the commentary: “A woman has two vital issues: What should I wear and what should I cook.“ That was the sphere where women were expected to excel.

In 1961 the time had come, however, to include one woman as a minister for family affairs in the government. Elisabeth Schwarzhaupt, this first female minister, knew how to assert herself without offending her male colleagues. The women in parliament were often rhetorically better, spoke foreign languages fluently, and worked harder than men.

The main theme of the movie is how women survived in a sexist world. Long before the #metoo discussion, women in the Bundestag called out sexism. Waltraud Scholle said in a speech, “We call on you to stop the routine sexism here in the Parliament. This was followed by ridicule and laughter by the male representatives who couldn’t understand why it was wrong to grab female bosoms and pinch bottoms. They completely lacked self-reflection.

But women were not going to give up. Käte Strobel is quoted as saying, „Politics is a much too earnest thing to be left to men only“. The women refused to be bent over, and that is why the movie’s title is “Die Unbeugsamen“ – the Unbendables. Experienced female politicians such as Hertha Däubler-Gmelin and Rita Süßmuth tell how hard they once had to fight to gain standing in their parties. Smiled at by the men or jovially "tolerated“. The performance of these women is awesome, their stamina impressive.

The fact that Germany has had a woman as Chancellor for the last sixteen years shows that things have changed from the time when power was considered unfeminine. However, the participation of women in politics is still not up to par. After 36,5% female members of parliament in 2013 the number went down to 30,7% in 2017. Let us hope that this trend can be stopped. The movie ends with a mixed philharmonic orchestra directed by a young woman. Things are changing.

The audience was made up mainly of middle-aged and older women, but I was glad to see that a mother had brought her teenage sons to the screening. Having moved to Germany in 1969 when I got married, I was able to remember many of the incidents as I had watched them evolve. But for my daughter, much of what was depicted was new to her. She said, “We were not taught women’s political history in school. How should we know?“ How can we expect the younger generations to realize what women in politics have had to face if the information is not passed on? My daughter left the cinema disgusted with the men’s chauvinism and inspired to make an impact.

Director Torsten Körners is impressed by the strong women in German post-war politics. On September 26, 2021, a new parliament will be elected in Germany. Over 60 million people have the right to vote. And again, we are seeing that a female candidate for the chancellorship is being attacked and damaged because she is a woman. It will be a very close election. One thing women learned in the early days of German politics is that women must show solidarity across party lines. Let's hope that the people will elect the best candidates without regard to their gender. The country still needs indomitable women in politics.

 

Photo: Majestic / dpa Bildarchiv