Henriëtte van der Meij

Henriëtte van der Meij

Henriëtte Rosina Dorothea van der Meij (* December 21, 1850 in Harderwijk ; † August 26, 1945 in Laren ), also written van der Mey , was the first full-time journalist in the Netherlands and one of the main actors in the so-called first feminist wave there.

Life

Van der Meij was born as the daughter of a professional soldier and a mother of German descent. Her actual wish to study was history, at her mother's request she finally chose German and first acquired the diploma “High German Language and Literature in Secondary Education” in 1875, followed by the diploma as an assistant teacher in 1876 and in 1878 the diploma as main teacher. From September 1876 to January 1885 she was a teacher at a girls' middle school in Goes . During this time she put together the "German Reading Book for Higher Töchterschulen" and wrote (initially under the pseudonym Enrichetta of Itor) literary reviews for papers such as De Portefeuille , De Lantaarn , De Nederlandsche Spectator ,Tijdschrift Nederland and De Amsterdammer (now De Groene Amsterdammer ).

Willem Doorenbos, editor at De Amsterdammer , gave her the idea to turn to journalism. In the course of her application to the left-liberal Middelburgschen Courant (now Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant ), she was able to prevail against eleven male competitors, making van der Meij the first full-time journalist in the Netherlands at the end of 1884. She worked for the departments abroad, literature and art, she was also responsible for reporting on the provincial parliament of Zeeland , for which she, as a woman, had to obtain special permission. Finally, van der Meij also acted as deputy editor-in-chief.

On July 14, 1889, van der Meij became the first woman to become a member of the " Nederlandse Journalistenkring " (Dutch journalists' ring). Here, too, her pioneering role ensured a peculiarity, so the "Mr." on her membership card was crossed out by hand and replaced by "Ms." The labor movement and socialism often found their way into van der Meij's reporting . She also got involved outside the newspaper; So in 1889, together with the Wibauts, who had been members of the socialist party SDAP for some time , she founded the “Vereniging Kindervoeding” to enable schoolchildren in poorer families to have hot meals. This collaboration continued when she and Mathilde Wibaut set up the Middelburg department of the “Vereeniging voor Vrouwenkiesrecht” (Association for Women's Suffrage) in 1895 . Van Der Meij did not follow the Wibauts into the SDAP until 1906, because they did not believe in the class and gender struggle, but rather fought for something than against.

In 1896 van der Meij moved to Amsterdam to become editor-in-chief of the new magazine Belang en Recht , one of the “Vereniging tot Vebetering van de maatschappelijke Rechttoestand der Vrouw in Nederland”, the Amsterdam teachers' association “Thugatêr” and the “Vrouwenbond te Groningen” Organ of the women's movement . Since she earned less there than at her old job, she was forced to terminate her membership in the “Nederlandse Journalistenkring”. During her time in matters of law , she distinguished herself from radical feminists such as Wilhelmina Drucker from the “ Vrije Vrouwebeweging ” (Free Women's Movement) as a more moderate representative. In contrast to her opponent, she set the priorities on universal suffrage; She wanted to see women's suffrage embedded in a broader emancipation movement that should also include working-class women. Another difference of opinion was the question of night and hazardous work, where Drucker called for equal treatment, but van der Meij called for special protection for women.

Although she herself remained unmarried and childless - she lived with her friend Ant de Witt - van der Meij saw marriage and motherhood as their highest destiny, despite her standing up for equal rights for women. However, the women should receive a good education and be able to work. In June 1904, at the Berlin Women's Congress, van der Meij gave a lecture on the situation of factory workers in the Netherlands and took part in the debate on the legal protection of women workers. Although she had originally not wanted to come, her contributions were very well received. In 1906 Belang en Recht was temporarily suspended, after which, at the suggestion of her friend Henri Polak, she became an employee of the Social Weekblad , the organ of the "Algemene Nederlandse Diamantbewerkersbond" (General Dutch Diamond Cutters Association) and remained so until 1934, when she was already 83 years old. She also wrote for other Dutch and Dutch-Indian papers. During the second half of her life, she continued her social commitment in a variety of ways, be it for refugees from Belgium during the First World War , vacation trips for poorer children, courses for workers in the diamond industry, the abolition of night work for baker journeyman and other activities that benefit the less well off .

Works (selection)

• Henriette van der Meij: German reading book for higher daughter schools . K. Van der Zande, 1884.
• Henriette van der Meij (Ed.): Belang en right ; Subtitle: Orgaan van de Vereeniging tot Verbetering van den Maatschappelijken en Höhle Rechtsstoestand der Vrouw in Nederland, van de "Vrouwenbond" te Groningen en thugâter te Amsterdam . jaarg. 1. - 10. (No. 1-240), WL u. J. Brusse, Rotterdam (Netherlands) Oct. 1896 to Oct. 1906 (= The Gerritsen coll. Of the history of women); bi-monthly women's magazine, ceased publication Oct. 1906. (Dutch)
• Henriette van der Meij: Gezondheids- en vacantiekoloniën in Nederland . De Erven JJ Tijl, Zwolle (Netherlands) 1908 (= Centraal bureau voor sociale adviezen, 8). (Dutch)

literature

• Piet Hagen: Journalists in Nederland. Een Persgeschiedenis in portraits. Uitgeverij De Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam u. Antwerp 2002, ISBN 90-295-2222-4 . (Dutch)
• Huub Wijfjes: Journalistiek in Nederland 1850–2000. Beroep, cultuur en organisatie . Boom, Amsterdam 2004, ISBN 90-5352-949-7 . (Dutch)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Author: Mies Campfens. Biography, Dutch . In: Biographical Woordenboek van het Socialisme en de Arbeidersbewegung in Nederland (BWSA). Last modified on August 26, 2002. Retrieved July 27, 2010