Women’s groups press discrimination complaint against Geert Wilders over X posts

Bureau Clara Wichmann (BCW) and WOMEN Inc. have filed a complaint against PVV leader Geert Wilders over a tweet he posted on August 4. The tweet featured an image of two half-faces: on the left, a young blonde woman with the letters “PVV,” and on the right, an older woman wearing a headscarf with an angry expression and the letters “PvdA.”

Wilders captioned the image: “The choice is yours on 29/10,” referring to the upcoming elections. PvdA is a reference to the Labour Party in the Netherlands, which has merged with green party GroenLinks to form one left-wing bloc ahead of the election.

BCW and WOMEN Inc. say the image amounts to incitement to hatred, discrimination, and group insult. They argue it discriminates against women on the basis of gender, religion, ethnicity or race, age, and political affiliation. The organizations filed the complaint to represent the collective interests of women in the Netherlands.

Earlier, 14 Muslim organizations and the national discrimination reporting center Discriminatie.nl had also filed complaints over the same tweet. They accused Wilders of incitement, group insult, and encouraging hatred, discrimination, or violence. According to them, the image polarizes and stigmatizes, fueling prejudice against Muslims.

The tweet has provoked strong reactions, with some comparing it to Nazi propaganda from World War II. Discriminatie.nl has received over 12,500 reports, the highest number ever recorded.

The PVV withdrew from the Dutch cabinet in June, citing disagreements over immigration policy.

Recent surveys indicate that the PVV is projected to secure approximately 20% of the vote, translating to around 30 seats in the 150-seat parliament. This positions the PVV as the largest party, ahead of the GroenLinks-PvdA at 15% and the VVD at 10%.