Johanna Elisabeth "Joke" Smit (27 August 1933 – 19 September 1981) was a well-known Dutch feminist and politician in the 1970s.

Personal life

Smit grew up in a reformed family of six children in

Vianen Vianen () is a city and a former municipality in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located south of the Lek river. Before 2002 it was part of the province of South Holland. Vianen is made up of a historic town centre tha ...

. Her father was a teacher. She attended the Christelijk Gymnasium Utrecht and later studied French language and literature at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

. She taught French at a number of schools between 1955 and 1966. In 1962, she worked a year in Paris as a freelance journalist, writing articles for the Dutch newspapers '' NRC'' and ''

Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

''. She was then appointed

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and secretary of the editorial staff of the literary magazine

Tirade Invective (from Middle English ''invectif'', or Old French and -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... and Late Latin ''invectus'') is abusive, or insulting ...

. She started to work as an associate professor at the Institute for Translation of the University of Amsterdam in 1966. A year later, she became a member of the

Partij van de Arbeid The Labour Party ( , PvdA or P van de A ) is a social democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1946 as a merger of the Social Democratic Workers' Party, the Free-thinking Democratic League and the Christian ...

(Labor Party). She represented this party in the municipal government of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

from September 1970 until September 1971. Smit also became editor of the party's scientific journal ''Socialisme & Democratie'' (''Socialism & Democracy'') in 1971. As a politician, she became affiliated with many committees, such as the Programmaraad TV (TV Program Council) for the NOS, the Committee Open School and the Emancipation Committee. Smit married Constant Kool in 1956 and gave birth to two children. Her relationship with Kool ended in 1974. She had a relationship with Jeroen de Wildt from 1978 onwards. Smit died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

in September 1981 at the age of 48.

Feminist activities

Smit gained a reputation as a feminist and an activist in 1967 when she published ''Het onbehagen bij de vrouw'' (1967) (''The Discontent of Women'') in the renowned literary magazine ''

De Gids (from Dutch: ''The Guide'') is the oldest Dutch literary periodical still published today. It was founded in 1837 by Everhardus Johannes Potgieter and Christianus Robidé van der Aa. Long regarded as the most prestigious literary periodical ...

'' in 1967. The publication of this essay is often regarded as the start of the second wave of feminism in the Netherlands. In this essay, Smit describes the frustration of married women, saying they are fed up being solely mothers and housewives. Together with Hedy d'Ancona, Smit founded the feminist organization Man Vrouw Maatschappij (MVM) in 1968. Throughout the 1970s, Smit published articles on a range of topics: women's issues in politics, women's rights, emancipation for lesbian women, feminism and socialism, and education for girls and women. Smit's was also known to the public for her progressive ideas about a new division in Dutch society between paid and unpaid labor. For instance, she argued that both men and women should work thirty hours a week to earn a living, which would consequently enable a division of a number of unpaid family- and household tasks between spouses. The feminist magazine ''

Opzij ''Opzij'' is a mainstream Dutch feminist monthly magazine. The title means "out of the way!"Cas Wouters, "Changes in the 'Lust Balance' of Sex and Love since the Sexual Revolution: The Example of the Netherlands," in History and profile ''Opzi ...

'' awarded Smit the Annie-Romein-Verschoor-prize in 1979.

Legacy

Since Smit's death in 1981, various commemorations were made in her honour, such as a bi-annual Joke Smit-prize, a Joke Smit College, a Joke Smit Foundation, the Joke Smit-countries in

Enschede Enschede (; local ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Overijssel and the Twente region of the eastern Netherlands. The east of the urban area reaches ...

, a Joke Smit Institute and the Joke Smit square in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. Various schools and streets in numerous Dutch municipalities were also named after her. A monument for Joke Smit was erected at the Alexandrine Tinneplein, near station De Vink in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

. Feminist magazine ''

'' republished Smit's essay ''Het onbehagen bij de vrouw'' in their 2007 special edition.

Publications

* 1967 - Het onbehagen bij de vrouw, ''De Gids'', November 1967 * 1969 - ''Rok en rol. Vrouw (en man) in een veranderende samenleving'', samen met H. Misset en E. Engelsman, De Arbeiderspers – Amsterdam * 1972 - ''Hé zus, ze houen ons eronder. Een boek voor vrouwen en oudere meisjes'', Bruna - Utrecht/Antwerpen * 1975 - ''De moeder van Marie kan méér. Gebundelde artikelen 1971-1975'', Bruna - Utrecht/Antwerpen * 1984 - ''Er is een land waar vrouwen willen wonen'', verzamelbundel

Literature

Marja Vuijsje: ''Joke Smit. Biografie van een feministe''. Atlas, Amsterdam, 2008. (3rd. pr. 2010, Olympus: )

References

Drs. J.E. (Joke) Smit (Kool-Smit)
at www.parlement.com

External links

''Het onbehagen bij de vrouw'' (1967)

Smit, Johanna Elisabeth (1933-1981)

Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland The ''Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland 1880–2000'' (BWN) is a Dutch biographical dictionary, in which short biographies of well-known and less well-known but still notable Dutch people are listed. The BWN supplements the '' Nieuw Nederl ...

Info op jokesmit.nl

Integrale tekst van de verzamelbundel ''Er is een land waar vrouwen willen wonen'' (1984)

Jeroen de Wildt
Portret in Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon Nederland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smit, Joke 1933 births 1981 deaths Dutch feminists Dutch women non-fiction writers Municipal councillors of Amsterdam Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Politicians from Utrecht (city) Dutch socialist feminists Utrecht University alumni Deaths from breast cancer in the Netherlands Burials at Zorgvlied Cemetery 20th-century Dutch non-fiction writers