2010-03-07/Women’s organisations to demonstrate against DF’s plan for greater gender inequality
By Michael de Laine, The Copenhagen Voice, 7 March 2010
At the approach of International Women’s Day (IWD) tomorrow, 8 March, Danish women’s groups are planning a demonstration against proposals by the Danish People’s Party to increase gender inequality and return women to the kitchens.
Proposals by the Danish People’s Party (DF) to increase inequality between women and men, “return women to the kitchens”, downplay support of elderly citizens and ban employees in the public sector from wearing scarves have triggered plans for a demonstration by women’s groups next weekend.
“Prohibiting women from wearing scarves in their public sector jobs is not only deeply unsympathetic and discriminating it is also extremely stupid,” says Hakima Lasham Lakhrissi one of the people behind the planned demonstration.
Hakima chairs the Association of Danish International Women (FDIK) and is a member of the board of the Ethnic Minority Women’s Council (EMKR).
“There are so many different reasons why women wear scarves,” says Hakima, who does not wear the type of headscarf associated with women from ethnic minorities. “For some wearing headscarves is a religious act, for others it is simply a tradition – just as it was for ethnic Danish women a generation or two ago. But why should wearing a scarf disqualify these women from contributing to the Danish society that they see themselves being a part of?”
Noting that 8 March is International Women’s Day (IWD), Hakima says, “A lot of work has gone into getting these women on to the labour market – and this is starting to become successful. There is a real need for these women, who to a large extent care for the elderly. And now DF is trying to destroy all this good work. DF is damaging the efforts towards women’s equality and the proposals are detrimental to the many elderly who need their care. And what DF wants is not least deleterious to integration.”
The demonstration will starts at Rådhuspladsen, Copenhagen city hall, on Saturday, 13 March, at 2.00 p.m. and will last an hour.