AmsterDames: An English Feminist Podcast in the Netherlands

During the summer of 2020, Belarus, its president Lukashenka and police brutality against peaceful protestors were all over the world’s news. Since then, the country has disappeared from the media. The world is looking in another direction now. But that doesn’t mean that the situation in Belarus has changed. Human rights defenders are in detention, members of the opposition are sentenced to multiple years in prison and free media has pretty much disappeared. Tasha Arlova is a filmmaker from Belarus, currently living in the Netherlands and she uses her art to remind us about what is still happening in her country.

AmsterDames Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/podcastamsterdames

One character is parting the Netherlands and its society. His name is Zwarte Piet. Is he just the amusing, friendly helper of Sinterklaas or is he a slave and a caricature of a Black person? For years, Anti Zwarte Piet activists call for either a removal of the character or at least an alteration to make him less hurtful to Black people. Pro Zwarte Piet Activists fear the destruction of Dutch culture and the end of festive moments for children. Stacey Lamptey grew up in Belgium before her family moved to Ghana and she knows that Zwarte Piet can be traumatizing for Black children, for example when they are told that they look like Zwarte Piet. In this episode, she talks about her own experience, her activism and her organization Black Ladies of Groningen.

AmsterDames Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/podcastamsterdames

It is a situation most women have experienced more than once in their life. A man they do not know makes a comment on their looks, their body or their clothes on the street. In English, this is called catcalling, the Dutch term however refers to intimidation on the street. The organization Catcalls of Amsterdam wants to make this intimidation visible and has found a special way to do so. In this episode, Paula Folino and Leonoor van Vliet from Catcalls of Amsterdam will explain how they do this and why catcalling and making a compliment is not the same thing. 

AmsterDames Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/podcastamsterdames

Instagram Catcalls of Amsterdam: https://www.instagram.com/catcallsofams/

Too white? Too dark? Too thin, too fat? Too curvy, not curvy enough? Even though there has been some more diversity within the beauty and fashion industry lately, women are still confronted with unrealistic beauty standards. Sonam Raj Verma is a plus-size model and a body positivity influencer. In this episode, she talks about self-confidence, acceptance and a potential change of mindset in the beauty industry.

AmsterDames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamespodcast/

Sonam's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautybeyondsizeofficial/

Sometimes, a bad day can turn into a bad week, a bad month or even a bad year. And then, a friendly person that has an open ear as well as an open mind and listens to us and our problems can be of great help. But what if we do not have such a person in our lives? Then there is the organization Bel me wel, founded by Saisha Partiman. The psychologist and a team of volunteers provide call-backs to people that are in urgent need of emotional support and try to help them over the phone. In this episode, Saisha talks about how she came up with the idea, why this work makes her so happy and how she manages to protect her own mental health during her work. 

AmsterDames Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/podcastamsterdames

Website Bel me wel:

When she was only a few weeks old, Dilani Butink was adopted by a Dutch family and was brought from Sri Lanka to the Netherlands. Years later, she found out that the information in her birth certificate is not correct. Was Dilanis's mother forced to give her baby away, was Dilani stolen from her mother or even sold to a Dutch adoption agency? She is not the only one with such a mysterious case. From the 70's on, about 40.000 children from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or South America were brought to the Netherlands by adoption agencies. Now, Dilani Butink wants to know the truth and is sueing the Dutch state to finally stand up to it's responsibility. 

AmsterDames Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/podcastamsterdames

Pink Cloud Photo Project: https://www.instagram.com/pink.cloud.project/

People who are on the autism spectrum often struggle with social interaction and spontaneous situations. Saskia Maas, co-owner of Amsterdam's comedy club Boom Chicago, came up with an original idea to help teenagers and young adults. Her organisation Inter-Acting offers workshops for people on the autism spectrum, using techniques of improvisation, to make them feel more comfortable in unexpected situations they are confronted with in daily life. Because after all, life is not scripted either, right?

AmsterDames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamespodcast/

Website Inter-Acting: https://interacting.amsterdam/

Between 1956 and 1984 thousands of unmarried pregnant women were forced to give their babies away. Yet, many people in the Netherlands have never heard about this. Neither did freelance journalist and writer Christel Don, until she heard the story of one of these women and decided to write a book about the Dutch Afstandsmoeders to get attention for the injustice that has been done. But during the process of writing this book, she came across another dark chapter of Dutch history that also nobody ever talks about...

AmsterDames Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/podcastamsterdames

Christel Don Website: http://christeldon.nl/

If you want to learn more about Afstandsmoeders, check out the podcast Separated by Force: https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/shows/separated-by-force/

Please note: The appointment in the law case of Trudy Scheele-Gertsen that I mentioned in the outro has been postponed from 6th of September to 24th of September.

In our society, girls are still taught to be nice, careful, and to not take any risks. The Amsterdam-based NGO Project Fearless, however, wants to encourage girls to get out of their comfort zone, take risks and to learn new things that are not necessarily considered 'girly', such as skateboarding or boxing. In this episode, founder Merida Miller talks about gender stereotypes, the programs of her NGO, and its visible impact on the girls.

Website Project Fearless: https://www.projectfearless.org/

AmsterDames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamespodcast/

It is a win-win-win situation. Getting some physical exercise, seeing Amsterdam from a unique perspective and protecting the environment. Kajak Kollektief ticks all the boxes. A few months ago, Marlene 'Leni' Breitenegger came up with the idea for her own NGO that helps to clean up the canals in Amsterdam by kayaking. In this episode, she talks about her inspiration to found this organization, weird things she finds and how the pandemic has affected the amount of trash and plastic in the water.

AmsterDames Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/podcastamsterdames

Kajak Kollektief Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kajakkollektief/