I met my international sisters in Berlin when I moved to Germany. They are members of “INTERNATIONAL WOMEN* SPACE” (feminist, anti-racist political group) and the Solidarity Network called “The Alliance of Internationalist Feminists Berlin”. We have organized two symbolic demonstrations (International Women’s Day /International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) every year and have various political campaigns.
We always say “No woman is alone”. This is a message of solidarity with warm spirit of comradeship. They created the only “space” where I feel safety and peace in Germany. There is no white man who asks me if I come from Japan or have time tonight, no rude German who talks to me with all Asian greetings. Every time I meet my international sisters, they give me strength and the courage to go on living in Berlin.
IWS hosted a series of workshops with femLENS in 2019 – many women from the group and our network in Berlin joined – these photos are some of the results. femLENS works as a capacity builder delivering free workshops to teach women and girls from economically and culturally diverse backgrounds documentary photography techniques to tell stories visually by using easily available tools such as mobile phone cameras. femLENS is volunteer-driven non-profit association founded by photographer Jekaterina Saveljeva in 2015. femlens.com