(Adnkronos) – “God must step aside. You have the right to your faith and to practice your religion, but democracy comes first”. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told the Ritzau news agency, adding that the government’s intention is to extend the ban on the full Islamic veil (such as the burqa and niqab) to schools and universities, expanding the legislation already in force since 2018 in public places. The prime minister also expressed her desire to eliminate prayer rooms from universities, which could be used as “instruments of social control and oppression”.
“It is not a question of discussing whether we want them or not – reiterated the Danish Prime Minister – We are taking an active position: we do not want them, because they are used as instruments of oppression against girls, and potentially also against boys”. Human rights organizations and religious groups have criticized the law, calling it discriminatory and harmful to religious freedom and women’s freedom of choice, but Frederiksen reiterated: “For me, it is not just a question of the extent of the phenomenon. I am the Prime Minister of Denmark. I am also a woman. And I cannot tolerate the oppression of women.”
