On Monday, the programme “rbb24” on the German public broadcaster rbb – which covers the latest news on politics, business, sport, culture and society – shared a video about holiday flights from Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). According to rbb, as the airport has acquired new CT scanners, speeding up security checks, nothing should now stand in the way of a “Kahi-Bodrum holiday”. The problem with this? “Kahi” is a diminutive form of the Arabic word “Kahba”, which means “slut”, and is used here to refer to German female holidaymakers.
Airlines are now flying more frequently from BER and serving more destinations on a regular basis. There are also new CT scanners, meaning passengers no longer have to take their drinks out of their bags during security checks. The licence-fee-funded broadcaster rbb shared this information on Monday in a short video on TikTok. However, rbb appears to link this positive development to just one thought: “Nothing should stand in the way of your holiday in Kahi-Bodrum”.
The word ‘Kahi’ is a diminutive form of the Arabic word ‘Kahba’, which means ‘slut’ or ‘prostitute’ in German. This vulgar foreign term is becoming increasingly common in Germany, particularly in youth slang and, above all, in rap music. On social media, the diminutive form ‘Kahi’ is appearing more and more frequently when users complain about women in the comments or criticise their revealing clothing.
But what does this have to do with Bodrum and the rbb? This Turkish town in the south-west, situated directly opposite the Greek island of Kos, is known for its wild parties and liberal holidaymakers, and is therefore also referred to as the ‘St Tropez of Turkey’. Traditional Islamic values or dress codes are therefore not really practised in this tourist resort. Various videos on Instagram show the exuberant, mixed-gender parties.
For rbb, it therefore seems clear that anyone visiting Bodrum is looking for a ‘Kahi holiday’ – in other words, a ‘slutty holiday’. Various other programmes also show that this is by no means the first gaffe by a public service broadcaster to degrade Western women. As far back as 2024, the public service youth programme “Funk” attracted attention for describing women who do not wear headscarves as “half-naked” and insulting them as “Alman-Sabines”.