GOETHE FILMS @ TIFF Lightbox is looking at love from all sides with five recent young films on 7+9+14 March 2023. $10 tickets on sale now. Zuhur's Daughters is one of my favourite documentaries of recent years. After escaping the war in Syria, a family learns to negotiate their new lives in Germany. But when two siblings begin to explore their transgender identities within their newfound freedom, their parents struggle as they cling to strict religious and cultural ideologies.
Directors Laurentia Genske & Robin Humboldt on meeting the family: "What fascinated us about Lohan and Samar was their determination and courage to follow their path to finally live their female identity openly, to be accepted.
When we first met them, they were still leading a kind of double life. In order to escape the gaze of their family and the hostility of neighbours, they lived in the refugee shelter as boys. On their nightly forays, they changed their clothes only when they were downtown. When we visited them at home for the first time, we were unsure: What would we answer when the parents asked us why we were making a film about the siblings? How much do they know and how do they deal with the fact that their two oldest children identify as girls? We came in with our own prejudices, expecting a strictly religious family with patriarchal structures, a sole male head of the family and two submissive wives. We were all the more surprised when we actually met Talib and Zuhur. Because we met average, concerned parents. Both were sad that their children were taking this, to them so strange, path. But they had come to Europe to give their families a better life, and above all they wanted their children to be to be happy."
FACT CHECK - TRANS* IN GERMANY
What does trans* mean?
Trans* is an umbrella term for all persons who do not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth.
How many trans* people are there in Germany?
Official number of trans* persons living in Germany are almost impossible to generate. Estimates range from 2000 up to 100 000 persons. The reason for these discrepancies are the different definitions of trans*: legal and medical sources usually only take into account "diagnosed" trans* individuals; other organizations also recognize those who do not necessarily undergo gender reassignment surgery.
Issues
Trans* people encounter discrimination, hatred and (sexual) violence. The legal situation is also a hurdle and thus a structural problem: The German Transsexuality Act (TSG) considers transsexuality a mental illness (gender identity disorder). Name changes or the registration of the correct gender require an expert opinion --a lengthy and strict diagnostic procedure.
Integration into the labour market is also often a problem, which --in connection with the social fetishization of trans* people-- often leads to prostitution.
Still, Germany is far ahead of many other European countries. The statutory health insurance covers 18 months of therapy and a large part of the costs for gender reassignment surgeries.
Source:
German Anti-Discrimination Agency
image: courtesy Camino
