Marjan Sax (born 26 December 1947) is a Dutch
feminist lesbian activist, member of
Dolle Mina and co-founder of a number of feminist organisations,
ethical bank Mama Cash
Mama Cash is the oldest international women's fund in the world, founded in the Netherlands in 1983. In 2013, Mama Cash supported 118 women's, girls and trans rights organisations with 4.3 million euros.
History
Mama Cash was founded in the Nethe ...
among them. Sax is also an advisor for charity organisations.
Life
Sax was born in Amsterdam and studied politics 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 was teamleader at the Open School in the North of Amsterdam from April 1977 to 1981. After that she worked as a researcher at the Foundation ''Vrouw & Media'' from March 1983 until June 1986, where she studied the position of female journalists at Dutch newspaper publishers. Sax has worked as an independent advisor for charities since 2003. She is a writer and is a board member for several organisations. In 2003 Sax read the
Mosse Lecture, titled ''Naar een nieuwe seksuele revolutie'' (''Towards a new sexual revolution'').
Activism
Sax was active in
Dolle Mina and was the co-founder of various feminist organisations: the ''Vrouwenhuis'' in
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 ...
in 1973, the
abortion-rights advocacy group ''Wij Vrouwen Eisen'' in 1974, the department of
Female Studies 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 ...
and the women's bar ''Saarein'' in 1978 where Dutch lesbian-feminist collective
Lesbian Nation organised events (mother-daughter days, poetry nights, folk song days, themed parties, etc.). And the Lesbian Archive Amsterdam (now
IHLIA LGBT Heritage) in 1982. Sax also took part in several other lesbian and feminist activities. She was one of the occupiers of the abortion clinic Bloemenhove in Heemstede, when it was threatened with closure in 1976. This action played a role in the legalisation of abortion. Sax kept a diary of this occupation, which was published in ''
De Groene Amsterdammer
''De Groene Amsterdammer'' () is an independent Dutch weekly news magazine published in Amsterdam. It is one of the five independent opinion magazines in the Netherlands, alongside '' HP/De Tijd'', '' Vrij Nederland'', ''Elsevier'' and the Jewish ...
.''
In 1982 Sax co-founded the organisation Mama Cash
with four others, and she was member of the board until 2003. Organisation
Mama Cash
Mama Cash is the oldest international women's fund in the world, founded in the Netherlands in 1983. In 2013, Mama Cash supported 118 women's, girls and trans rights organisations with 4.3 million euros.
History
Mama Cash was founded in the Nethe ...
has different funds for women projects that promote emancipation and feminism. Sax received a noteworthy heritage and in 1982 she gave Mama Cash an interest-free loan of 2,5 million guilders. The organisation was allowed to keep the profit. In the eighties and nineties Sax was involved in de Roze Draad (1985 - 1991, the feminist supportgroup of ''
De Rode Draad'', an organisation for the improvement of the position of sex workers) and ''Vrouwen tegen Uitzetting'' (a collaboration to support female refugees).
The archive of Marjan Sax is being kept in
Internationaal Archief voor de Vrouwenbeweging (IAV).
Rewards
Sax has received different rewards for her efforts for the Dutch women's rights movement, like the 'Zilveren Anjer' of the
Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds
The Cultuurfonds was founded by Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands in London in 1940 during World War II in order to buy war material for the British and Dutch Governments. It continued after the war as Stichting Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds aiming ...
in 1995 and the 'Bob Angelo Penning' of the
COC in 1997.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sax, Marjan
1947 births
Living people
Dutch feminists
Dutch LGBTQ rights activists
Dutch lesbians
People from Amsterdam
University of Amsterdam alumni
Women civil rights activists