Fundamentalists in front of the university?

On 23 April, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., a group of seven members of the TFP (German Society for Tradition, Family and Private Property) gathered in front of the auditorium for a “protest for life”.

Amid loud counter-protests, banners and rosaries were waved to pray against “the sin of abortion”.

The Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination and the AStA Department for Gender and Diversity registered a counter-demonstration. The counter-demonstration shielded the TFP event from the public. As a result, the slogans and prayers could not be heard beyond a radius of five metres.

Jordis Niemeyer – AStA representative for gender and diversity – speaks on behalf of the AStA:

“The timing chosen by TFP for its appearance is no coincidence: at a time when the AfD is stumbling from one poll high to the next, there are quite a few organisations riding this wave. Attempted attacks on the right to sexual and reproductive self-determination are an expression of an anti-feminist ideology that unites right-wing forces. Be it fundamentalist Catholics, ultra-conservatives like Friedrich Merz, fraternity members or staunch neo-Nazis.”

The AStA at the University of Göttingen takes a firm stand against any restriction of fundamental human rights, such as the right to abortion. Abortions are still criminalised in Germany under Section 218. Medical students still have to practise how to perform abortions on papayas in self-organised workshops.

The spokesperson for gender and diversity comments:

“This is precisely why it is important to resolutely oppose all forces that seek to dictate to people with uteruses what they can and cannot do with them. We therefore strongly condemn the university’s decision to allow the TFP protest to take place in front of the auditorium without comment. It is not enough to hope that a fundamentalist event held directly in front of a university landmark will not make a bad impression. The university should have taken an active stand against the anti-scientific and misanthropic attitudes of the TFP.”

The AStA believes that fear of a possible violation of the principle of neutrality cannot be used as an excuse for everything.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to the citizens of Göttingen for their active participation in putting the fundamentalists in their place. At the same time, the AStA calls on the university to fulfil its duty as an institutional embodiment of enlightened values and to publicly speak out against the activities of the TFP on university grounds.