Tag: Songül Mutluer

03 august 2025

The Dolle Mina’s are back! They started in 1969 to fight for equal rights for woman. They went dormant in 1978, but got back into action in 2013. Why? Well the new Sprinter trains didn’t have toilets! It’s 2025 and there is still a lot to make equal and improve. The next generation is taking the lead.

The first big demonstration was in Rotterdam on August 03. Subject: Femicide. Reason: Every 8 days a woman is murdered by their partner in The Netherlands. Even worse… it is the most predictable murder.

The protest started with speakers. The major of Rijswijk, Huri Sahin, talked about the impact of femicide and how she and her colleagues in other cities deal with it. Explaining the challenges in the legal system, by lawyer Ine Avontuur. Explaining the challenge to get help and a solution, Tanya Hoogwerf representing Filomena. Explaining what is done in the house of commons to improve things step by step, Songül Mutluer. Most impressive was the father of Sanne, Wim Hertgers, who told the story of his late daughter and all the red flags that where there in hindsight. In hindsight it was visible, but in the twelve year leading up to the fatal day it was an tragedy in slow motion.

Before the march Elfie Tromp and Annika. shared poetry and music, but… direct after Sanne’s fathers speech… it started with a collective scream.

It was a good tour through the city. The Witte de Withstraat in Rotterdam is a busy street laced with bars and restaurant. To get maximum attention the protest didn’t pass it once, but twice.

Back at the Schouwburgplein it was time for more speeches and performances. First up a two girls. One was reading a speech on behalf of her friend whose mother was murdered just two days before the protest.

Luus Malbons, a spoken word artist, gave on incredible performance. She talked about the subject without mentioning it at all. To close the protest day with a lighter mood Glenda Peters sang for us. Half planned, half improvised, it was a perfect end.

Before we got to the photos… The parents of Sanne have a transport company. Together with various organizations they turned a truck into an information center about femicide. It travels through England, The Netherlands and Germany. The truck also has a tiny url on it and a QR-code, but you don’t have to chase it. Just click HERE and learn, especially about the red flags. If you find the truck parked, go inside as it contains a cinema. It shows an eight minute lang movie about femicide. Read more about in Dutch: here.

Was the protest free of incidents. No. During the speech of Sanne’s father a man came up to the stage and grabbed the mic. Not clear what his message was. People next to the stage caught him and handed them over to the police. During the march through town, just before the second passage through the Witte de Withstraat a car got impatient. It drove around the barrier and over the pavement. Then it went upstream through the crowd. Good that it was at the end of the protest and the team from Handhaving, covering the rear, acted directly.

The good news is that the protest will be repeated every Sunday until September 21, 2025.

Click on the photos to enlarge