Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and singer Isam B are in a public online dispute over the niqab, after the musician said that wearing one can be a feminist act.
The disagreement is playing out on social media on Saturday, August 22. DR reports that Mette Frederiksen (Social Democrats) has published a long Facebook post rejecting the comments made by Isam B, who is known from the band Outlandish.
In the post, the prime minister describes the remarks as a mockery of women who fight an unreasonable daily struggle. She writes that the debate fills her with rage, and that she followed it during a busy working week. According to DR, she links her criticism to what she calls social control and oppression.
Frederiksen also writes that the fight against social control is far from new. Per DR, she adds that she is once again confirmed in how important that fight is. Her post refers to a TV 2 documentary about girls sent abroad on so called re-education trips.
The post further points to statements from the Islamist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has claimed that there can be more freedom in Afghanistan than in Denmark. Frederiksen uses both examples to underline her concerns, DR reports.
Isam B responds on Instagram
Isam B has answered on Instagram, where he accepts that the prime minister’s disagreement with him is legitimate. He rejects that he wanted to ridicule women in niqab by comparing them to ninjas, according to DR. His point, he writes, is that people generally speak in a condescending way about women who choose to cover themselves.
As reported by DR, Isam B states that a woman’s right to decide over her own body and appearance must also apply when her choice is one the prime minister or others dislike. He argues that it cannot be concluded that all women in niqab wear it against their will. He adds that his point is not that all women should wear a niqab, but that freedom includes choices others would not make.
Ekstra Bladet reports on his reply under the headline that he does not mock women, and notes his opposition to coercion about how women should dress. B.T. also covers both the Facebook post and his reaction, including his statement on self-determination.
Comments made in a podcast
The remarks were originally made in the podcast “Platform,” where Isam B said that one of the most feminist things a woman can do is put on a niqab. TV 2 reported on August 19 that a clip of the comment spread widely on Instagram.
TV 2 also reported that several politicians criticized the statements in the days before the prime minister entered the discussion. Ekstra Bladet adds that Dansk Kvindesamfund was among the organizations that had already criticized Isam B’s comments.
