New Aletta Jacobs Room joins Canon of the Netherlands (video)

The University Museum is devoting a special exhibition room to Aletta Jacobs, the first woman to graduate from a university in the Netherlands and an internationally renowned women's rights advocate. The Aletta Jacobs room will house a new exhibit to reflect the importance of Aletta Jacobs worldwide. The room has recently been included in the Canon of the Netherlands. Lilianne Ploumen will conduct the official openining of the room, on the same day that she will be receiving the University of Groningen Aletta Jacobs Prize.  

A graduate of the University of Groningen, Jacobs was the first woman to gain a university degree in the Netherlands. She was also the first to gain a doctorate and the first female physician in the Netherlands. She was a prominent activist in the international movement for women's suffrage and an influential pacifist. In her medical practice, she was also innovative and influential. She worked to improve healthcare for prostitutes, discussed contraception openly and introduced contraceptive pessaries in the Netherlands. She also wrote a book on reproductive healthcare for women.

More information

• Aletta Jacobs Prize
• The Aletta Jacobs room