logo
Denmark aims to ban veils in schools, varsities

Denmark aims to ban veils in schools, varsities

Express Tribune06-06-2025
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday her government planned to extend the ban on full-face Islamic veils in public places and apply it to schools and universities as well.
She also said she wanted to see an end to prayer rooms at universities but stopped short of calling for a outright ban.
"God has to step aside. You have the right to your faith and to practice your religion but democracy takes precedence," she told Danish news agency Ritzau.
In August 2018, Denmark banned the wearing full-face Islamic veils like the burqa and niqab in public places, with offenders subject to a fine.
Human rights campaigners and religious groups have criticised the ban as discriminatory and as a violation of both freedom of religion and women's freedom of choice.
Supporters argue it enables Muslims of immigrant backgrounds to better integrate into Danish society.
Frederiksen alleged that prayer rooms at universities could be used for "social control and oppression".
She said her government would start talks with universities to have them removed.
"It's not a discussion about whether we want them or not," Frederiksen said.
"We are actively taking a position that we don't want them because they are used as a mechanism of oppression against girls and potentially boys as well."
Frederiksen said she did not know how widespread the phenomenon was.
"For me, it's not just the scale that matters. I'm the prime minister of Denmark. I'm also a woman. And I can't tolerate the oppression of women."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Stories of terrorism
Stories of terrorism

Express Tribune

time3 hours ago

  • Express Tribune

Stories of terrorism

Listen to article I was once a graduate student in a Texas university and later for a brief period of time a PhD candidate here at the University of Houston. During lectures and discussion sessions in class, every time the issue of terrorism would come up, people sort of paid attention to what I had to say because the killing of Osama bin Laden had just happened a few years ago. And everyone knew that I was from Pakistan. The leading newspapers at the time dedicated an enormous amount of space to stories of terrorism, Taliban, Al Qaeda, and so forth mostly having a connection with Pakistan. While that reporting has died down with time, what has rather emerged recently is the most bizarre and direct connection that terrorism always has had with either the CIA or the FBI. I have written in this space back in March that the cult leader Charles Manson and the notorious Manson family murders had a CIA connection. The CIA wanted to understand the extent of how much a human being could be converted into a human robot, where it would follow the command to go and kill innocent people without thought or remorse. Theodore John Kaczynski aka Ted Kaczynski aka Unabomber went from being a Harvard genius to a terrorist that killed innocent people because of the extreme methods his mind was subjected to by the CIA as part of what was called Project MKUltra. We all know who the makers of Al Qaeda are and how Bin Laden was treated as a hero while he was fighting against the Soviets in Afghanistan. The 90s decade is very interesting. Sheikh Omar Abdul Rehman, the blind cleric who ran away from Egypt, indoctrinated young Muslims in New York and New Jersey areas, to attack America. Ramzi Yousaf and his friends executed a bomb attack targeting the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993. Two days later, in Texas, the FBI unleashed an attack against a religious cult known as Branch Davidians. At the end of the 51-day siege, the FBI ended up killing innocent people, including 21 children. This Waco siege made one former US soldier, a Gulf War veteran, extremely angry at the federal government for its tyrannical tendencies and actions against private citizens. His name was Timothy McVeigh. He decided to take revenge. Two years after the Waco debacle, McVeigh bombed a federal building in Oklahoma city, killing 168 people. This remains the deadliest act of domestic terror in US history. McVeigh was arrested, tried, and killed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001. That was three months before the most famous terrorist attack of our time. McVeigh's case was handled with sheer alacrity and the case was ended creating a foul smell of a cover-up. There was an accomplice of him, which was never identified or found. It has been 30 years since that deadly terrorist attack and no effort has resulted in unmasking his identity. There is a video of the actual bomb delivery when McVeigh and his accomplice were carrying out the attack. That video has never been shown. It wasn't even shown at the trial of McVeigh. It only makes common sense for an investigative agency to get to the bottom of the story and find all those involved in the most deadly domestic terrorist attack of the nation's history. And that is when it all starts to smell of a cover-up. The Epstein story smells of the same cover-up. The man is said to have killed himself in a jail cell and everything just was accepted on its face. Epstein's brother, however, hired a private investigation, which disagrees with the findings of the government that Epstein hanged himself in his jail cell awaiting trial. I guess we will never know the truth of so many of these things. But in every story of terrorism, people should only look at the CIA and FBI, not just to find the truth and safeguard the nation but also to ask, "Do you have something to do with this one too?"

Bangladesh's Yunus calls for reform on revolution anniversary
Bangladesh's Yunus calls for reform on revolution anniversary

Business Recorder

timea day ago

  • Business Recorder

Bangladesh's Yunus calls for reform on revolution anniversary

DHAKA: Bangladesh's interim leader on Tuesday marked the one year anniversary since the overthrow of the autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina by calling for people to seize the 'opportunity' of reform. But Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, the 85-year-old who is leading the caretaker government as its chief adviser until elections are held, also warned against those he said sought to roll back gains made. 'Today marks an unforgettable chapter in the history of Bangladesh', Yunus said, marking a day he said had led to 'liberating our beloved nation from the grip of long-standing fascist rule'. The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since a student-led revolt ousted then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, ending her 15-year rule. Yunus later addressed crowds of thousands outside parliament, standing in the rain, issuing a 'proclamation' alongside leaders of key political parties — a document to be added to the country's constitution. 'The trust of the people... as expressed by the mass uprising for addressing the political and constitutional crisis in Bangladesh is justified, legitimate and internationally recognised,' he read from the document. 'The people of Bangladesh express their desire for ensuring good governance and fair elections, rule of law and economic and social justice, and for introducing lawfully democratic reforms for all state and constitutional institutions'. The crowd, some wearing headbands made from the national flag, and who included families of those killed in the deadly crackdown on the protests, applauded after Yunus read the document. Fariha Tamanna, 25, who travelled to Dhaka on a government-sponsored train, said it was 'deeply satisfying' to hear the government 'acknowledge the uprising'. 'There's still a long road ahead, so many wrongs continue,' she added. 'But I still hold on to hope.' Kazi Solaiman, 47, a teacher in an Islamic school, said it was a day of celebration. 'An oppressor was forced to flee by the people's uprising,' he told AFP. 'I hope Bangladesh never again becomes a land of tyranny.' 'Stand united' Hasina's rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killing of her political opponents, and Yunus has pledged to overhaul democratic institutions. 'The sacrifice of thousands has gifted us this rare opportunity for national reform, and we must protect it at any cost,' Yunus said in letter issued to mark the anniversary.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store