No gay rights portfolio for Rouvoet

Wednesday 24 February 2010

While family minister André Rouvoet has taken over most of the cabinet responsibilities held by former education and culture minister Ronald Plasterk, he is not taking over the gay rights portfolio, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday.

Instead, that job will go to junior education minister Marja van Bijsterveldt, the paper says.

Homosexuality is a difficult subject for Rouvoet's orthodox Christian party ChristenUnie. According to the Volkskrant, the leader of the party's local election campaign in Amsterdam said last week he believed homosexuality can be cured by God.

One of the politicially-sensitive issues which may strand because of the government's collapse is an amendment to equal treatment legislation which is supposed to strengthen the legal position of gay men and women.

The issue is particularly sensitive in education. The Netherlands has dozens of fundamentalist Christian schools which oppose homosexuality on Biblical principles.

Such schools may not actively discriminate under Dutch law but are free to determine their own 'professional demands' for teachers, allowing them to refuse homosexuals.

© DutchNews.nl

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