Which women are we proud of?

I am, of course, proud of my wife, my two daughters, and three granddaughters. But which women would deserve to be depicted on a stamp? I leafed through the stamp catalogue and came across quite a few. But there really could have been a few more. women's Day International Women's Day takes place every year on March 8. It is a tribute to a strike by American women in the garment industry in 1908. They fought for better working conditions, shorter working hours, and equal rights. Thanks to Clara Zetkin (1857–1933), March 8 was proposed in 1910 and has been officially recognized by the UN since 1978. Clara Zetkin was an East German activist, and the GDR regularly issued a stamp about her.           [/one_half] [one_half_last]

        [/ One_half_last]   Aletta Jacobs (1854 – 1929). I read on www.historiek.net that International Women's Day was conceived as early as 1901 by our very own Aletta Jacobs. As far as I am concerned, she certainly deserves a real stamp in 2029. She was the first woman to be admitted as a student to a Dutch university (in Groningen in 1871), after which she became a doctor. In the Netherlands, she is known as a figurehead of the first feminist wave and for her fight for women's suffrage. Aletta appears on a stamp from the 'Canon of the Netherlands' series. A stamp has also been issued regarding women's suffrage. I suspect that Aletta is on this one as well. Does anyone know if Aletta is indeed on this stamp?

                [/one_half] [one_half_last]

                [/ One_half_last] Anne Frank (1929 – 1945) Of course, Anne Frank must never be forgotten. She became world-famous through her diary, which she wrote during the Second World War while in hiding in the Secret Annex on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. She died of typhus in February 1945 in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Many countries issued a stamp about Anne Frank. I will show you two that were issued by the two countries where she lived (Germany and the Netherlands).

              [/one_half] [one_half_last]           [/ One_half_last] Saskia Uylenburgh (1612–1642) Perhaps a surprising choice on my part, but I will explain. She was the first wife of Rembrandt van Rijn and 'the love of his life.' She modeled for a number of his important works. Saskia and Rembrandt had four children. Three of them died shortly after birth. Only Titus, their youngest son, lived longer. In 1634 she married Rembrandt, and eight years later she died, at only 30 years old. So, during this period she had four children. Rembrandt was a self-confident man and tolerated little contradiction. Not an easy husband, then. Saskia died while Rembrandt was working on his most famous painting, 'The Night Watch.' The Night Watch consisted only of men. It is therefore remarkable that Rembrandt also painted a woman in it, which is historically incorrect. According to some experts, Rembrandt depicted his deceased wife Saskia as an angel here as a tribute to her. When I compare them, I do see some similarities. Does anyone know if it is indeed Saskia who is in The Night Watch?

                [/one_half] [one_half_last]

          [/ One_half_last] 1001 women In 2013, the book '1001 vrouwen' was published. The author was Els Kloek. The book was compiled as a historical catch-up in the field of women's history. Two criteria were used for the selection of the women: achievement and/or reputation. A stamp sheet featuring portraits of six women from the book was also released to mark the launch of the book. The stamp sheet was presented to Princess Máxima on April 2, 2013.   The women depicted on this stamp sheet are: Alexine Tin Haag (1835 – 1869) was an explorer in Central Africa and the Sahara; Belle van Zuylen (1740 – 1805) was a French-speaking writer and composer; Trijn van Leemput (1530 – 1607) was a Utrecht resistance heroine during the Eighty Years' War; Maria van Oosterwijck (1630 – 1693) was a painter in the Baroque period; Maria of Burgundy (1457 – 1482) granted privileges to the provinces in the Netherlands; Anne Zernike (1887 – 1972) became the first female minister in the Netherlands in 1911. Regarding writer Belle van Zuylen: a piece of text by her appears on a summer stamp from 1978. In the letter, written in French, Belle informs her close friend of the rejection of a marriage candidate. The 'caption' on the stamp reads: 'Reading and writing truly changes human existence…' The name 'Belle van Zuylen' appears in red vertically on the right of the stamp, Heroes of then and now In 2010, to mark the 75th anniversary of the Summer Stamp, PostNL issued a sheet of stamps titled 'Heroes of Then and Now' featuring three men and three women. The following women were selected for this: Fanny, Mies, and Annie. I think this is a well-deserved choice.   Fanny Fanny Blankers-Koen (1918 – 2004) won four gold medals at the London Olympic Games in the 100 m, 200 m, 80 m hurdles, and 4 x 100 m relays. As a result, she became known as 'the flying housewife'. In 1999, she was chosen by the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) as International Athlete of the 20th Century. Bonaire issued a gold stamp in her honor.

                [/one_half] [one_half_last]           [/ One_half_last]   Man Mies Bouwman (1929 – 2018) is considered a TV legend as a television presenter and is therefore also seen as the 'Queen of Dutch television'. Well-known programs of hers included 'In de hoofdrol' and 'Zo is het toevallig ook nog eens een keer'.

                [/one_half] [one_half_last]                 [/ One_half_last] Annie Annie M.G. Schmidt (1911 – 1995) was a poet and writer of songs, books, plays, musicals, and radio and television dramas. She became particularly famous for children's books such as 'Pluk van de Petteflet' and series of children's stories such as 'Jip en Janneke'.               [/one_half] [one_half_last] [/ One_half_last] Women's walk As a city guide in Leiden, I also lead walking tours about well-known, famous, and notorious women from Leiden. The most notorious woman of all time in Leiden is 'Goeie Mie,' the nickname of Maria Catharina Swanenburg (1839–1915). She is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the record holder for the number of people poisoned (more than 100), of whom between 30 and 40 died. Naturally, we are not proud of that in Leiden. But what do you think: should there be a postage stamp of Goeie Mie, the Leiden Poisoner? I am curious to hear your reactions.