Denmark, following in the footsteps of several other European countries, seeks to target Muslim women for their religious convictions.
In 2004, the Danish People’s Party presented a motion, which discussed the prohibition of wearing cultural headscarves. The ban included: “any type of scarf or headwear that falls outside the category of Christian or Jewish culture.”
In 2009, when the Danish parliament proposed a resolution which forbade the wearing of the burka and niqab in public spaces, but the proposal was declared unconstitutional and therefore rejected by the jurists.
Since 2009, European countries, such as France and Belgium, have succeeded in legislating a “masking ban”.
In October 2017, the Danish Parliament proposed a “masking ban” that aimed to forbid all forms of face coverings in public spaces.
An annual report on hate crimes released by the Danish police in 2015 shows that there have been 198 reported hate crimes during the year. Of these were 104 motivated by race and 60 were religiously motivated, of which 41 were directed against Muslims.
They claim that we are oppressed women who cannot make our own choices and who have been forced to wear the niqab. Yet, a report commissioned by the government and compiled by the University of Copenhagen in 2009, shows that none of the niqab- or burka-wearing women in Denmark have been forced to wear it.
The government should understand that living in Denmark Müslim women should have equal rights like everyone and their dressing according to religious view isn’t dangerous.
Source: TRTworld
