Hello, we are members of the 8M alliance. We are an alliance consisting of individuals and feminist groups that is planning the demonstration and events around the feminist day on March 8 in Leipzig. We are very happy that so many of you are here today! We are fighting here today in solidarity with all women, lesbians, inter, non-binary, trans and agender people and all those who are oppressed by patriarchy. We are here today united against patriarchy, capitalism and fascism!
The year 2024 began with the revelations of the inhumane deportation plans of right-wing extremists, AfD officials, the Werteunion and financially strong entrepreneurs. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets against the right. While we think it is important that so many people are finally realizing that right-wing extremism is a real danger, we would like to point out that the shift to the right does not stop with the AfD. The federal government is passing laws such as the Rückführungsverbesserungsgesetz and the Geas reform. This affects migrant queers and Wlinta people in particular. With their current asylum policy, the bourgeois parties are showing that they are not a firewall against the right, but are instead driving the shift to the right forward. We want to oppose this shift to the right together today and every day!
According to election polls, the AfD could achieve a majority in the upcoming state elections in Saxony. This exposes Wlinta* and queer people to a massive threat. The AfD wants to deny the right to abortions, actively mobilizes against queer people, portrays them as sexually assaultive and demands that trans people be denied the right to self-determination.
The LGBTQIA+ community in particular is the target of the AfD’s hostility. Attacks on CSDs, such as in Döbeln or Halle, already pose a real threat to queer people. Anti-queer violence in Germany has increased dramatically in recent years as a result of aggressive right-wing agitation, and these attacks are carried out systematically and in a planned manner! With the so-called „Selbstbestimmungsgesetz“, the federal government is showing that it is not aware of the realities of queer life in Germany and is not taking any real measures to ensure that queers are protected and can make self-determined decisions about their bodies.
We stand with all queer and wlinta* people and demand protection from queer-hostile attacks and bodily self-determination for all people!
All resistance to fascism in Germany has been criminalized for years. The verdicts in the Antifa-Ost trial last year and the current repression against antifascists in the Budapest complex clearly show which side the state is on. We stand here in solidarity with all antifascists!
Demonstration bans, such as those currently affecting the migrant left in particular, as well as attacks against people showing solidarity with Palestine at „Gegen rechts“ demonstrations, show the deeply rooted racism of German society.
Meanwhile, the German government is spending billions on the Bundeswehr, increasing arms exports to war zones around the world and putting capitalist interests above human lives. And all this under the guise of so-called „feminist foreign policy“.
The state spends billions on wars, but cuts the social sector!
The federal budget provides for drastic cuts in social support services. In doing so, the state is letting people down and causing the social infrastructure to collapse.
It was only in January that RosaLinde e.V. was stripped of all funding from the Free State of Saxony and the City of Leipzig. This means the end of queer educational work in Leipzig, North Saxony and the district of Leipzig. RosaLinde e.V. offers psycho-social counseling, especially for queer people who have experienced flight. For almost 30 years, they have also been organizing workshops for school classes, training for educational professionals and coordinating „rainbow clubs“ at schools. The social austerity measures are already making themselves felt here. Queer educational work is currently more important than ever, which is why we are calling for further financial support for RosaLinde e.V.!
Over 80% of employees in social and healthcare professions are Wlinta*. They have been in a precarious situation for years due to a shortage of skilled workers, inadequate pay and a lack of funding. They also take on the majority of unpaid care work at home, such as housework and raising children. The planned austerity policy will drastically increase the already above-average burden on Wlinta*! We stand in solidarity with all employees in the social and healthcare sector and support them in their demands for better working conditions!
Women’s shelters are also affected by the austerity measures: Funding for expansion is to be cut considerably. However, there is already a shortage of 15,000 spots! As a consequence, people seeking protection and those affected by domestic violence have to be turned away. The number of femicides is rising steadily! There have already been 20 femicides in Germany this year. As protective measures are not adequately funded, the federal government is partly to blame.
We will not put up with this.We demand the expansion and funding of women’s shelters and an end to patriarchal violence!
We, the 8M alliance, therefore want to take to the streets with you today to express our anger! We condemn the discrimination, exploitation and agitation against migrants, queers and WLINTA* people!
We must unite to fight the social and political shift to the right and the rise of fascism!
Together against the shift to the right and social austerity – feminist fight now!