26 August 2009

The burka – an isolation cell

The debate over the burka and whether to ban wearing it in public has raged this summer in France and has now come to Denmark.

.... The burka is intended as a means to hide women and protect them from contact with strangers, particularly men. That kind of thinking goes completely against the way we in Denmark have organised our society. People are included in society by taking part – at work, in associations and in clubs. This is something these women, and in many cases their children, are cut off from. [The Copenhagen Post] Read more

Burka ban proposal splits government The governing party has rejected a proposal from its coalition partner, the Conservative Party, to ban people from covering their face with clothing such as burkas and niqabs.

‘We do not want to see burkas in Denmark,’ said Naser Khader, the integration spokesman for the Conservatives.Khader, who immigrated to Denmark from Syria and who helped established the Modern Muslims group, said the burka symbolised the Taleban and oppression of women. It had nothing do to with Islam. [The Copenhagen Post] Read more