Thursday, January 6, 2011

Burka, Niqab have no place in Denmark: PM

COPENHAGEN: The face-covering Burka and Niqab veils worn by some Muslim women have no place in Denmark, Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said on Tuesday, adding his government was considering restricting them.

Rasmussen stopped short, however, of calling for a ban on the veils, noting “legal and other limits”.

“The government’s position is clear: the Burka and the Niqab have no place in Danish society. They symbolise a view of women and humanity that we totally oppose and that we want to combat in Danish society,” Rasmussen told reporters.

Denmark is “an open, democratic society where we look at the person to whom we are talking, whether it’s in a classroom or on the job,” he said. “That is why we don’t want to see this garment in Danish society,” he added.

The prime minister’s comments came a day after the publication of a report which showed that use of the Burka was “extremely rare” in Denmark, though no figures were given, and that the Niqab was worn by “between 100 and 200” women.

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