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'The war against women'

Sybilla Claus joins the podcast of De Telegraaf's popular reporter Wierd Duk.

The position of women is under serious threat from both woke transgender activism and conservative Islam, concludes Claus, who gives a platform to a large group of young women, experts by experience, scientists and commentators. She makes the case for a "new feminist wave": "So that girls finally start to feel confident and happy en masse."

'Er woedt een oorlog tegen vrouwen' | Het land van Wierd Duk | Podcast

The book behind the podcast

The podcast grew out of the book Gender Rebels (Uitgeverij het Haantje, 2024), a volume of 368 pages with forty contributors, edited by Sybilla Claus and Iratxe Álvarez. It gives a platform to young women, experts by experience, scientists and commentators, among them Liesbeth Woertman, Jolande Withuis, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and the psychiatrist Riittakerttu Kaltiala. Read more on the Gender Rebels page or in the summary of the book.

The English edition, Rebel Girls, was published by Spinifex Press in 2026. It runs to 400 pages and brings together fifty contributors from the Netherlands, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, China, Afghanistan and Australia. Dr Helen Joyce called it essential reading. Learn more on the Rebel Girls book page and meet the girls who share their stories.

More conversations and reviews

This is one of several podcasts and interviews about the book. Browse the other media appearances, such as the conversation with Bert Brussen, the Vrouw podcast and the column by Ronald Plasterk. Questions about women, gender and biology are answered in the FAQ.

Would you like to invite the author for an interview, a lecture or a review copy? Please visit the contact page, where you will find the details of the author, the publishers and the English edition. You can also learn more about the people behind the project on the Who Are We page and read the biography of Sybilla Claus.