Barbelies WiegmannWe women have achieved a lot and there is still a long way to go.
The 1970s. You can't miss Dr. Barbelies Wiegmann in the corridors of the Bonn court. Standing tall, she towers over many of her colleagues. She does not hide under a robe, but stands out pleasantly in a bright blue dress among her colleagues dressed in muted colors. Male lawyers are still in the majority at this time, whereas nowadays there are far more women than men among family law specialists.
With Barbelies Wiegmann, you are in good hands, especially as a female client. As a consistent advocate, she fights for the rights of wives in the event of separation or divorce. But she has also always represented men who do not want to harm their wives, even if they are legally able to do so.
Barbelies Wiegmann explicitly opposes the reduction of women to the old role of housewives. In her 1980 book "Das Ende der Hausfrauenehe. Plädoyer gegen eine trügerische Existenzgrundlage", she warns: "The job of the family housewife is more dangerous than that of a tightrope walker. There's a one in three chance of it going wrong. Besides, a tightrope walker usually works with a net. A housewife usually works without a net. She would only have a net if her economic existence was guaranteed even if the marriage broke down. Guaranteed by sufficient maintenance payments from the husband. This is not the case. The worst problem at the end of a housewife's marriage is alimony. In most cases, it is not a problem, but a disaster."
In 1990, she summarized the history of family law in the "Legal Guide for Women". It states: "Until the middle of the 20th century, the man was the sole decision-maker in all matters of marital life. He determined the place of residence and home and had sole parental authority over the children. The wife was generally obliged to work in the household and in the husband's business; she was only allowed to enter into an employment relationship with third parties with his consent. If she owned property, the husband had the administration and usufruct of it. Acquired property belonged to him alone."
The Equal Rights Act of 1957 improved women's rights a little later, but the principle of fault still applied to divorces. Only since July 1, 1977, the First Act on the Reform of Marriage and Family Law, have married couples had the same rights and obligations, at least on paper. However, today, almost 50 years later, equal rights for women have still not been achieved and very many are unable to secure their livelihood through their own employment after separation and divorce. Even a good education often does nothing to change this, as careers have been interrupted by bringing up children, family work and part-time employment. In addition, women are still paid less on average.
A brief digression to the biography
Her personality has many facets:
The lawyer
The feminist
The mediator
The Buddhist (Meditation)
I hope that this portrait of Barbelies Wiegmann shows what a generous, energetic and courageous woman she is and what a clear mind she has. She was a pioneer in many areas and influenced me as a lawyer and mediator. I was only too happy to fill her place in the "Bonn Blue Trumpets", which had become vacant for a sad reason, with guitar and song.
Text: Irmela Amelung and Gabriele Hertel