Women’s Day The Netherlands
Women’s Right to Vote in the Netherlands
May 9, (1919)

Number of female heads of state to date: 0

The women’s right to vote in the Netherlands is an important aspect of the country’s history and democratic development. The struggle for women’s suffrage in the Netherlands began in the late 19th century and culminated in the achievement of full voting rights for women in 1919.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, women’s rights movements gained momentum in many parts of the world, including the Netherlands. These movements advocated for women’s suffrage, equal rights, and opportunities for women in various spheres of life.

One of the prominent figures in the Dutch women’s suffrage movement was Aletta Jacobs, a physician and suffragette. She played a crucial role in advancing women’s rights and fought tirelessly for the right to vote. Jacobs also became the first woman to officially enroll at a Dutch university and the first female physician in the Netherlands.

The Dutch suffrage movement faced opposition and encountered challenges along the way. Many argued that women were not fit for political participation or that their place was solely within the domestic sphere. However, the suffragettes persevered and gradually gained support and recognition for their cause.

After 1870, the feminist movements of the ‘First Wave’ (1850-1920) of England and the United States influenced the Netherlands, causing a feminist consciousness to develop itself within wealthy families of the bourgeoisie. The women’s movement exposed and challenged women’s subordinated position in society. The main goal was to achieve access for women to all forms of education, the right to participate in civil service under the same circumstances as men, and equal rights of the management and expenditure of joint ownership. Women’s right to vote was heavily emphasised on.

In 1917, women in the Netherlands were granted the passive right to vote. This meant women were able to be elected in politics, but were not allowed to vote themselves. It was only in 1919 that women were given the active right to vote, which allowed them to participate in electing a candidate.

It’s important to note that while women gained the right to vote, it took several more decades for women’s representation in politics to reach significant levels. Over the years, women in the Netherlands have continued to work towards achieving gender equality and increasing their participation in political, social, and economic spheres.

Today, the Netherlands is known for its strong commitment to gender equality and women’s rights. The country has made progress in promoting women’s representation in politics and has implemented various policies and initiatives to address gender disparities and promote equal opportunities for women.

The achievement of women’s suffrage in the Netherlands marked a significant milestone in the country’s history and paved the way for greater gender equality and women’s empowerment. It serves as a reminder of the importance of active citizenship and the ongoing fight for equal rights and representation for all.


First woman in the House of Representatives

1918 In July 1918, women were not eligible to vote themselves, but it was permitted to vote for them. Rotterdam-based teacher Suze Groeneweg became the first woman to enter the House of Representatives. It was a sensation: her election was covered by all the newspapers. She was even given her own toilet in the parliament building, where only men’s facilities were available.

1919 The universal suffrage movement now really started to take off. Henri Marchant, alias ‘The General’ and ‘the Tiger’, submitted a draft bill: it called for Dutch women to be given the vote alongside men. Although opposition remained, particularly in the Christian parties, this was a change whose time had come. On 9 May 1919, the House of Representatives voted in favour of women’s suffrage by a large majority: 64 votes in favour and 10 against. From now on, 46.3% of Dutch people had the right to vote.

1948 Universal suffrage did not apply in the colonial territories of the Dutch East Indies, Suriname and the Dutch Antilles, where only men who paid a certain amount of tax were eligible to vote. Moises Frumencio da Costa Gomez called for black residents to be given a greater say on Curaçao. By April 1948, this had been achieved: universal suffrage was introduced in Suriname and the Dutch Antilles. A year later, the Netherlands recognised Indonesia as an independent country. Dutch Indonesians returning to the Netherlands were given the right to vote. The percentage of Dutch citizens (in the European part of the Netherlands) eligible to vote reached 55.9%
> houseofrepresentatives.nl/dossiers/hundred-years-universal-suffrage-celebration

Na honderd jaar kiesrecht maken vrouwen het verschil in het stemhokje

Hoe gebruiken vrouwen het kiesrecht dat zij honderd jaar geleden hebben verworven? Veel vaker dan mannen stemmen ze op een vrouw en ook de partijkeuze is anders. Maar de politieke voorkeur blijkt in de loop der jaren flink verschoven.
Marjon Bolwijn, 9 maart 2019
> volkskrant.nl/na-honderd-jaar-kiesrecht-maken-vrouwen-het-verschil-in-het-stemhokje

Liberaal Journaal : 100 jaar vrouwenkiesrecht (1917-2017)

In 2017 is het honderd jaar geleden dat het algemeen mannenkiesrecht werd ingevoerd, evenals het passief kiesrecht voor vrouwen. Daarmee konden vrouwen zich voortaan verkiesbaar stellen en ook gekozen worden. Tevens werd de weg vrijgemaakt voor actief kiesrecht voor vrouwen – het recht om ook zelf een stem uit te brengen. Het zou nog tot 1919 duren alvorens vrouwen daadwerkelijk actief kiesrecht verwierven.
> telderscommunity.nl/Liberaal-Journaal-TS-2017-Vrouwenkiesrecht.pdf

Canonclip 34: Aletta Jacobs

Aletta Jacobs

In 1882, a female doctor, Aletta Jacobs, wrote a letter to the mayor of Amsterdam, asking why she was not registered as a voter, although she paid the legal required amount of taxes to be eligible to vote. The mayor answered that although the law did not say explicitly that women could not vote, the intentions of the law could not be discussed. The result of a long judicial fight was that the parliament changed the law and added ‘male’ to the article of the law. It was very clear now- women had no right to vote.
In the early days of the twentieth century, the debate of universal suffrage divided the Socialists and the Liberals. The Socialists put emphasis on suffrage for the lower classes, and thought that once the men had suffrage, the women would follow. The Suffragettes, being mostly upper class women, opposed this idea fiercely. Eventually, the question was solved in a very Dutch manner. The right to stand for election for both women and men was granted in 1917 and the right to vote for all women and men was granted in 1919. At the same time, subsidized Catholic and Protestant schools were erected. The Socialist, Liberal, Catholic and Protestant political parties all got what they wanted.

Hedy d'Ancona
Hedy d’Ancona at a congress on social democracy in 1981.

Hedy d’Ancona

Hedy d’Ancona has had an impressive career- both in and outside politics. In the sixties, Hedy d’Ancona was one of the founders of ‘Man Vrouw Maatschappij’ or MVM (Man, woman, society), a mixed feminist group that put fundamental questions concerning gender relations to the forth. She is one of the few active members of the feminist groups of the second wave that pursued a political career. She was a member of the Dutch Upper House, the junior minister of Emancipation, the Minister of Welfare, Public Health and Culture, a MEP, and the chair of the Dutch Social Democrats of the European parliament. The fact that Hedy d’Ancona has combined feminism with both a professional and a political career has contributed positively to the image of women’s issues as an important and accepted political issue. Although during the second feminist wave activities concerning women’s issues mostly took place outside the political realm, d’Ancona has a history of pulling feminism into (social democratic) politics. During her (unfortunately) short period of junior minister of Emancipation, she changed the idea that ‘women had still a lot ground to cover’ to ‘gender as an issue of power’. She started to design policy to avoid violence against women and girls, and the gender based division of labour. The device of the second feminist wave -the personal is political- describes Hedy D’Ancona in all of her aspects.