Emancipation: still a long way off?

The Public Prosecution Service is set to investigate the Nashville Declaration regarding its potential breach of Dutch law. Emancipation Minister, Ingrid van Engelshoven, said on Twitter that the existence of a Dutch version of the declaration is a “step back in time” and shows that “emancipation is still a long way off.”

The Nashville Declaration, signed by 250 (male) clergymen and politicians, including the chairman of fundamentalist Christian reformist party (SGP), has sparked a heated discussion in The Netherlands. The declaration affirms belief in traditional Christian sexual ethics, considering it “sinful to approve of homosexual impurity or transgenderism”, amongst other beliefs about LGBTQ and marriage in the eyes of God. In a country that is known internationally for its support for gender equality, the declaration has invited a series of reactions from citizens, politicians, Civil Society Organisations, ministries and churches that are hoisting the rainbow flag as a symbol of diversity and tolerance. Further, thousands of people have responded by signing a declaration against the manifesto.

Image: Indebuurt Den Haag