Danish advise to ban headscarf in primary schools

"When you are a little girl, and in primary school, you must be allowed to just be a child. If you then, when you become an adult, decide that you want to wear a headscarf –that you do it of your own free will– we do not interfere", says Christina Krzyrosiak Hansen to the Danish press agency Ritzau. The Social Democrat is chairman of the commission and also mayor of the Holbæk Municipality.

In total, the commission made nine recommendations that deal with minority ethnic girls. In addition to banning headscarves in schools, the commission recommends, among other things, that children's groups in day-care "must reflect the population". There should also be courses introduced on modern Danish child-rearing for "selected minority ethnic parents". Sex education should also be strengthened.

Honour

According to the commission, the ban on headscarves in primary schools should apply to private schools, public schools and independent schools. However, there are no figures on how many girls wear headscarves in schools or how many feel pressured to wear them.

Regardless, Christina Krzyrosiak Hansen does not believe that the proposal limits religious freedom in Denmark. This reports the Christian Danish daily Kristeligt Dagblad "We do not put restrictions on religious freedom. That is not what we are dealing with." Hansen says that the commission believes "that girls between the ages of eight and nine should not be put in a situation where they have to be responsible for this – the family's honour and all that it can entail. This is something we want to give them space and time to deal with."

The Danish Social Liberal Party leader is not happy with the commission's recommendations. Sofie Carsten Nielsen says it is difficult to fight social control with other social control. "After all, that's what it will be like if you forbid some girls to wear certain clothes." Nielsen fears that a ban could mean that girls exposed to social control will stop coming to school. "If this becomes a reality, we will not see them. They may want to leave school, be taken out and not become part of the community we want."

Enjoy

The Social Democratic government set up the commission at the beginning of this year. According to the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, it must come up with recommendations on "how we in Denmark ensure that women with a minority background can enjoy the same rights and freedom as other Danish women".

In connection with the commission's first meeting on 8 March, which is International Women's Day, it was announced that there would be three sub-recommendations during the following year. The first part is about children, while the next ones are about young people and adults respectively.

Immigration and Integration Minister Kaare Dybvad Bek (Social Democrats) did not want to answer how the government relates to the recommendations from the commission. The government and the Danish Parliament are not obliged to follow the commission's recommendations.