Danish Muslims Say They Will Defy the Country's Face Veil Ban
Scores of Danish Muslim women plan to march in protest Wednesday against the Danish parliament's ban on wearing face veils in public.
On Aug. 1, the ban will become the law of the land and many Muslim women and non-Muslim women are planning to wear face coverings at the rally. They say it is to protest and raise awareness about why women should be allowed to express their identity in that way.
"I won't take my niqab off. If I must take it off I want to do it because it is a reflection of my own choice," Sabina, a college student who is studying to be a teacher told Reuters.
In May, the Danish government joined France and other European countries in banning the veil. Some say it demeans women, making them seem like second-class citizens, which is not in line with the country's democratic values.
"Everybody wants to define what Danish values are," Meryem, another college student who is studying molecular medicine, told Reuters. Meryem was born in Denmark to Turkish parents and said she's been wearing the niqab since before meeting her husband, who supports her right to wear it but feels life could be easier without it.
"I believe that you have to integrate yourself in society, that you should get an education and so forth. But I don't think wearing a niqab means you can't engage yourself in Danish values," Meryem said.
Under the law, the police can tell women to remove their veils or order them to leave public areas. Justice Minister Soren Pape Poulsen said officers would fine them and tell them to go home.
Fines will range from 1,000 Danish crowns ($160) for a first offense to 10,000 crowns for a fourth violation.
