Potentiale homosozialer Räume am Beispiel interkultureller Frauentreffen

Abstract

This paper refers to the topic of female homo-social rooms as spaces for intercultural exchange and their potentials for the participants and society. Because of the detected deficit of research in the field of female homo-social spaces and a negative connotation of gender separation, the aim of this work is to show a different perspective on the topic and generate potentials for both individuals and society that can be transformed to a wider range. It focuses on women with a Turkish cultural heritage as descendants of the former â GastarbeiterInnenâ generation, but also includes the view of a woman of German heritage. Together they take part in the event â Intercultural Exchangeâ , organized by the women club belladonna and the Mevlana mosque which are both located in Bremen. The used methodology consists of an ethnographical study linked with participating observations, expert interviews and the inductive categorizing inside the qualitative content analysis following Mayring as well as a relevant literature basis. The theoretical background includes definitions of homo-social spaces as well as the history of the development of female spaces in Germany, especially the ones connected to mosques. An overview over the scientific literature regarding homo-social spaces and intercultural and interreligious exchange is also given in this context. The results show how an intercultural exchange inside homo-social spaces can solve society problems, like discrimination and prejudice towards women with a Turkish cultural heritage. Both regarding the social and economical context in German society, the interviewed women still have to fight with prejudice in everyday life. It was detected that an increasing trust, open mindedness and un-derstanding between cultures and religions developed inside the group of the â Intercultural Exchangeâ . Problems like language barriers of the older generation and fear of the â otherâ started to be solved inside this event, based on patience, help and cooperation. The paper concludes with ideas about the further development of the â Intercultural Exchangeâ and a brief summary. The aim of this paper is to generate an additional value and fill a gap in the scien-tific field of female homo-social spaces that is worth some attention in the interna-tional examination. The perspective of women with a Turkish cultural background and a positive view on gender separation constitute its distinctiveness.