Monday, September 12, 2005

Dutch Court Bars Funding of Christian Party That Discriminates Against Women

From the Netherlands, Expatica reports today that a court in The Hague last week prohibited the Dutch government from continuing to give an annual grant to a small Christian political party, the Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP). The court accepted the argument advanced by a coalition of women's groups that the State should not fund a party that does not allow women to be full members. The Court said that the funding violates the United Nations Convention on Discrimination against Women which Netherlands has ratified. The Dutch government says it will appeal the ruling.