The long-standing conflict over whether an MP may wear a headscarf in parliament was resolved by the board of governors
It was a victory for the Red-Green Party's Asmaa Abdol-Hamid and a bitter defeat for the Danish People's Party on Tuesday when parliament's board of governors ruled that MPs may dress as they wish in parliament, so long as they can be recognised by their colleagues.
The decision was specific taken up in response to the issue of women wearing the traditional Muslim headscarf.
Abdol-Hamid is a parliamentary candidate for her party, and she said she would continue wearing her headscarf should she become an MP. The Danish People's Party (DF) sought to forbid headscarves in parliament and filed a complaint with the board.
Although the board approved the wearing of headscarves, its ruling means the Muslim burka, which covers all of a woman's body, is forbidden.
Abdol-Hamid was happy with the ruling.
'It's the decision I expected. Anything else would have been a blow against democracy and in conflict with the constitution,' she said.
Søren Espersen, DF's board member, was the only one voting against the headscarf in parliament.
'I'm saddened by the decision. It's a bow to the oppression the headscarf symbolises,' said Espersen.
The other board members were the Social Democrats' Svend Auken, Socialist People's Party's Holger K. Nielsen, the Conservative's Helge Adam Møller and Liberal board chair Thor Pedersen.
The board's decision parallels a ruling earlier in the week by the Board of Justices, which stated that judges may also wear the Muslim headscarf.
Source: The Copenhagen Post (English)
See also: Denmark: Hijab in parliament, Denmark: Can a parliament member wear hijab
3 comments:
Wait...why are Burkas banned? How does that make sense?
Probably because - even in Denmark - there's a limit to how much silliness they're willing to put up with.
MPs may dress as they wish in parliament, so long as they can be recognised by their colleagues.
A burka hides your face, a headscarf doesn't.
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