Are traditional associations allowed to exclude women from customs? In the Allgäu, a woman sued her own club for this reason – and got her right.
Memmingen – In the dispute over the exclusion of women from traditional fishing in the Allgäu, the organizers suffered another defeat in court.
The association, which organizes the annual fishing day in Memmingen, has to allow female members to take part in the highlight of the festival, the fishing out of the city stream, the Memmingen district court ruled on Wednesday. Until now, according to the statutes, this was reserved for men. On the other hand, a woman had sued and won at the Memmingen district court, and the Fischertagsverein had appealed the judgment.
Every summer on Fisherman’s Day, the participants jump into the Memminger Stadtbach and fetch trout from the water. Whoever catches the biggest fish becomes the fishing king. According to the Fishermen’s Day Association, this tradition of cleaning the canal can be traced back to the 16th century.
The ruling of the regional court could point the way for male bastions at club events, but is not yet legally binding. According to a spokesman, the Fischertagsverein in Memmingen wants to decide on Thursday whether it wants to appeal the judgment to the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe. dpa
