Lecture on the topic of pension justice
In cooperation with the Initiativgruppe DDR-geschiedener Frauen, the City of Chemnitz's Equal Opportunities Officer, Bettina Bezold, invites you to an information event with a lecture and discussion on Wednesday, 7 November at 3 pm . The speaker will be Marion Böker, Consultancy on Human Rights and Gender Issues and advisor to the association. She will talk about pension justice for women who divorced in the GDR. The event will take place in the Bürgerhaus Am Wall in the large meeting room on the 4th floor - admission is free.
In her lecture, Marion Böker will explain, among other things, how the UN human rights convention CEDAW should provide a remedy in the matter of women divorced in the GDR. The event will also offer those affected and those interested in the topic the opportunity to make direct contact with the Association of Women Divorced in the GDR ( www.verein-ddr-geschiedener-frauen.de ).
Background: For 21 years now, women who divorced in the GDR have been complaining about the systematic multiple discrimination they have suffered as a result of the withdrawal of their pension entitlements and unequal treatment compared to their ex-husbands under German pension law, as stipulated in the Unification Treaty. Since 1999, they have been working tirelessly with their own association and city groups in the political arena to achieve a fair solution. Those affected have so far submitted thousands of petitions at all levels, attended hearings and succeeded in having three Federal Council initiatives on the matter. Most recently, the organisation informed the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to initiate an investigation by the United Nations in order to abolish systematic discrimination based on gender and origin.
Contact: Bettina Bezold, Equal Opportunities Officer of the City of Chemnitz, phone 0371/488-1380, e-mail: bettina.bezold@stadt-chemnitz.de