page_title: Feminism in the Netherlands
section_title: Second-wave feminism
hierarchical_section_title: Feminism in the Netherlands / History / Second-wave feminism
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Spaarnestad Photo, SFA003003408 Vrouwenactiegroep Dolle Mina. Ludieke actie met huishoudelijke attributen. Nederland, 1970. English: Dutch women's rights movement group "Dolle Mina". The Netherlands, 1970.
context_page_description: Feminism in the Netherlands began as part of the first-wave feminism movement during the 19th century. Later, the struggles of second-wave feminism in the Netherlands mirrored developments in the women's rights movement in other Western countries. Women in the Netherlands still have an open discussion about how to improve remaining imbalances and injustices they face as women.
context_section_description: A 1967 essay by Joke Kool-Smits, "The Discontent of Women", was published in De Gids and is credited with launching second-wave feminism in the Netherlands. The next year, a group of feminist men and women banded together to create the activist group Man-Vrouw-Maatschappij (Man-Woman society, or MVM). Its dual-gender composition made it rare among Western Second-wave feminist organizations, but it was similar to others in that its membership was predominantly middle or upper class and well-educated. Dissatisfied with the lobbying efforts of the MVM, a more radical group was inspired. The all-female Dolle Mina society was founded in 1969, naming itself "Mad Mina" after pioneering Dutch feminist Wilhelmina Drucker. Dolle Mina had success as a consciousness-raising force during the 1970s, mainly through its use of imaginative protests, such as an outdoor "Discrimination Fair" to draw attention to the issue of equal pay for equal work.
  The 1976 publication of Anja Meulenbelt's novel De Schaamte Voorbij (The Shame is Over) was another important piece of second-wave feminist writing in the Netherlands. The novel was confessional in tone, and made the connection between the body and language politics overt. In the late 1970s, the fight for access to abortion, rape crisis centres, and women's shelters became a dominant focus of the feminist movement. In 1980, the government was financially supporting 30 rape crisis centres in the Netherlands. During the 1970s, feminist periodicals multiplied, such as Dolle Mina, Vrouwen, Opzij, Serpentine, Vrouwenkrant, and Lover, and there were several feminist publishing houses in Amsterdam, the best known being De Bonte Was (1972) and Sara (1976). In 1982, an estimated 160 feminist groups were active in the Netherlands, covering 25% of Dutch towns. The 1980s saw many victories for the feminist movement, including the disintegration of the male breadwinner logic as the Netherlands began to prioritize re-gearing the welfare state in favor of incorporating women into the workforce. The Abortion Bill was passed in 1981, and came into force in 1984. In 1984 married women also obtained full legal equality in family law - prior to 1984 the law stipulated that the husband's opinion prevailed over the wife's regarding issues such as decisions on children's education and the domicile of the family. In 1991, the Netherlands removed the marital exemption form its rape law. In 2000, in a move which remains controversial, the Netherlands overhauled its legislation on prostitution, liberalizing the laws and legalizing regulated brothels (although prostitution in brothels had been de facto tolerated throughout the second part of the 20th century).
caption: A costume demonstration by the feminist group Dolle Mina (Mad Mina), 1970.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Vrouwenactiegroep Dolle Mina in actie, 1970. Een kind met een plumeau zit op de kast, een vrouw heeft een plastic vergiet op haar hoofd gebonden.\n\nDutch women's rights movement group &quot;Dolla Mina&quot;. The Netherlands, 1970.", "Image Artist": "Harry Pot", "Image Copyright": "Collectie SPAARNESTAD PHOTO/Harry Pot", "Image DateTime": "2009:03:06 23:03:23", "Image Software": "Memorix - pictura-dp.nl"}