Burqa “un-Danish”

After the controversy in France, the debate about the Muslim whole-body garment for women has now hit Denmark: Naser Khader, an MP for the Conservative People’s Party (DKF), has essentially proposed prohibiting the burqa in public, reports the Jyllands-Posten. The conservative daily adds that Khader, an integrationist and founder of the Moderate Muslim movement (renamed Democratic Muslims) , argues that the burqa is "un-Danish” and oppresses women.

The DKF has yet to deliberate on possible penalties for disobeying the ban, however. The burqa ban, one on a list of 13 proposals for the integration of immigrants, which also includes courses in women’s rights, does not have unanimous support, notes the Jyllands-posten : the Liberal Alliance (currently in power) are opposed of the proposals, while the conservative People's Party (which support the government but are not part of it) are in favour, as are the opposition Social Democrats.