Germany’s ambassador to India has sent a scathing letter to a professor at Leipzig University who refused to give an Indian student an internship, citing India’s “rape problem”.
Ambassador Michael Steiner said he “strongly objected” to the reasoning of Prof Annette Beck-Sickinger, chair of biochemistry at the university, writing: “Let’s be clear: India is not a country of rapists.”
He added: “I would encourage you to learn more about the diverse, dynamic and fascinating country and the many welcoming and open-minded people of India so that you could correct a simplistic image, which – in my opinion – is particularly unsuitable for a professor and teacher.”
In her emailed response to the request for an internship, Beck-Sickinger had written: “Unfortunately, I don’t accept any Indian male students for internships. We hear a lot about the rape problem in India, which I cannot support. I have many female students in my group, so I think this attitude is something I cannot support.”
In a later email, Beck-Sickinger wrote that it was “unbelievable that Indian society is not able to solve this problem”, adding that it “demonstrates the attitude of society towards women” and that “many female professors in Germany decided to no longer accept male Indian students.”
A colleague of the Indian student who applied for the internship posted Beck-Sickinger’s emails on question-sharing platform Quora asking for advice on how to react to the response. The exchange then went viral.
The German professor has since apologised for her comments, saying they were taken out of context.
In a statement, Leipzig University said Beck-Sickinger had rejected the student’s application for a job as a part-time trainee on the grounds that there were no vacancies. It added that the student would not accept the refusal and started a discussion about German and Indian societies.
“I never had the intention of discriminating against Indian society. I have nothing at all against students from India – quite to the contrary,” said Beck-Sickinger in the university’s statement. “If I hurt anybody’s feelings, I duly and heartily apologise and feel sorry for any misunderstandings.”