Security services were monitoring women's rights movements post-war

The Bureau Nationale Veiligheid, the Dutch government security agency, was tracking the increasingly popular women’s rights movement after the Second World War. This is evident from files in the National Archives in The Hague that have been made public by the intelligence and security service, which was established immediately after the liberation and existed only for a short time.

"Following the letter" from the agency, the Amsterdam Intelligence Service took a look at meetings of the New Dutch Women's Movement in the capital. The bureau was given a list of targets and names and addresses of current leaders in the movement.

The main goal of the movement was "to place women next to men." An election pamphlet of the then-liberal Freedom Party was also hanging behind the window of the house belonging to the movement’s president, the service reported to the office. The president was described by "sex mates" as a "confused" person, the service continued.

A police detective in Enschede and an “unpaid” police officer wrote a report about a meeting of the General Housewives Association in cafe Lippinkhof in his city. Around 250 women were present at the meeting.

The meeting was mainly about the scarce food supply and also about the struggle of the working class. Among other things, the issue was that "the Royal House gets oranges by the crate," and people like the members of the club only by the pound. Women, therefore, had to be united in the fight for the interests of the workers, and plans were made for a demonstration.

The National Security Bureau was told by other investigators that the General Groningen Women's Association mainly consisted of "extremely left-wing" members and "dissatisfied elements.”

There was a communist women’s movement in Schoonoord, Drenthe at the time. The bureau was also notified of the events in this movement. "Not all members agree that the meeting should be opened with the 'Internationale'. Communism is very moderate in the Schoonoord area. All the above-mentioned families are known as good and decent working-class families."