Amsterdam, Netherlands - The Netherlands' oldest political party is celebrating an unusual victory -- the right to receive state funding while continuing to bar women from standing as candidates.
The SGP, an orthodox Protestant party rooted in the Dutch "Bible Belt," seems a contradictory presence in the proudly liberal Netherlands -- a country where prostitution, gay marriage and soft drugs are legal.
But the party has consistently held a small number of seats in parliament since 1922, boasts unswervingly loyal voters, and stands by its conviction -- stemming from its reading of the Bible -- that women should fulfill caring roles at home.
"Reading from the Bible's verses we see that women have a more nurturing role, whereas men are the breadwinners," said SGP spokesman Menno de Bruyne.
The party has long irked feminists, and many others simply dismiss it as a curiosity, but this month the Netherlands' highest administrative court ruled that by representing a minority in society -- ultra-conservative Protestants -- who would otherwise not have a voice the SGP has the right to state cash.
The ruling obliges the state to resume annual payments to the SGP of about $1.15 million which stopped abruptly two years ago when a lower court found the party to be in breach of a U.N. treaty against discrimination of women.
"We were very happy that state law experts found this is not the way to apply the treaty on equal rights," said de Bruyne.
"Obviously everyone has a right to equal treatment but there is also a right to having an organization reflect your views. If our voters are paying taxes then their views should be represented by a political party entitled to funding."
This has attracted vehement disagreement.
"You could compare this to allowing a restaurant to turn away Blacks and Jews because there are other restaurants where they can go," said law professor Tom Barkhuysen, who led the case against the party brought by a group of feminists, trade unionists and Dutch jurists.
"We want women to have a free choice within the SGP, to be able to decide for themselves rather than face a ban."
Such discriminatory practices by a party in a democracy make the Netherlands exceptional within Europe, Barkhuysen added.
ASPIRING WOMEN?
Riet Grabijn-van-Putten, 74, is a member of the SGP and the daughter of an SGP politician who says she for one would like to see women allowed to stand for the party in elections.
"There are women who want such positions but I think they are keeping quiet to preserve unity in the party," she said.
"While I am happy to see the SGP get its subsidy back I do think women should have the same rights as men in the party."
Through its politics the SGP seeks to live out Biblical values, and its voters are traditionally devout Protestants. One SGP-controlled council recently banned swearing in the town.
"We receive a lot of hate mail. 'You should be banned', 'You are from the Middle Ages', we get accustomed to it," said de Bruyne, adding the majority of votes for the party are cast by women and they would appear happy with their lot.
New rules allowed women to join the party from 2006.
"This case was brought by women whose ideology is fundamentally different to that of the SGP... it was done by people who find our party objectionable," de Bruyne said.
Barkhuysen says the aim in bringing the case was not to destroy the SGP but simply to ensure the Dutch adhere to anti-discrimination laws.
Surprisingly the SGP youth party does allow women to occupy leading roles in the organization.
Maaike Verhoeks, 23, is the Young SGP political chairwoman, although she says she has no desire to later join parliament.
"When I get married and have children then that will be the most important thing in my life," she said.
The SGP, led by the austere-looking Bas van der Vlies, has two seats in the 150-seat Dutch parliament.
The Protestant faith in the Netherlands is fragmented. Besides the traditional Protestant church, there is also a strict Reformed Protestant Church, formed in the 19th century, and a growing evangelical movement.
According to official figures 41 percent of Dutch have no religion, 30 percent are Catholic, 12 percent Protestant, 6 percent Reformed Protestant and 6 percent are Muslim.