The German court ruled that women cannot be excluded from traditional activities in which fishermen compete to catch the largest fish in the stream that flows through the small Bavarian town.
The Memmingen State Court stated that the organization of the town Fishing dayOr Fishermen’s Day, where female members must participate in the climax of the annual summer event, where people bring nets into the stream to catch trout. Whoever catches the biggest fish is crowned “King of Fishermen”.
It is said that this tradition can be traced back to the 16th century. The organizers’ 1931 charter stipulated that “in order to preserve the centuries-old tradition”, only male members who had lived in Memmingen for at least five years could participate.
A female member of the opposition took her case to the district court in Memmingen and won. On Wednesday, the state court rejected the organizer’s appeal. It found that their stated goal of serving local history, culture and environmental protection did not justify the unequal treatment of members.
The court also stated that the incident was no longer a completely faithful reproduction of history.
According to a report by the German news agency dpa, the organization said it plans to decide on Thursday whether to appeal to the Federal Court. The Mayor of Memmingen, Manfred Schilder (Manfred Schilder) stated that the ruling was clear and that the incident “will change”.
Both parties rejected the presiding judge’s suggestion that they reach an out-of-court settlement. Organizers argued that most representatives must approve the compromise, but they have twice refused to open the event to women.
The case allowed the association to enjoy legal freedom when formulating its own rules to oppose the requirement of equal treatment. Michael Ruppert, the head of the organization that organized the Memmingen event, stated that the decision “may affect many, many associations across Germany.”
