{"id":176022,"date":"2018-08-10T03:15:54","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T07:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=176022"},"modified":"2018-08-10T03:15:54","modified_gmt":"2018-08-10T07:15:54","slug":"danish-designer-uses-runway-make-statement-burqa-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/08\/10\/danish-designer-uses-runway-make-statement-burqa-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Danish designer uses runway to make statement on burqa ban"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cI have a duty to support all women’s freedom of speech and freedom of thought,\u201d Reza Etamadi said. (File Photo<\/a>: Steve Evans\/Flickr<\/a>, CC BY-NC 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

COPENHAGEN \u2014 An Iranian-born designer made more than a fashion statement in Denmark on Wednesday by showcasing models wearing the conservative Muslim niqab, and others dressed as police officers, days after a law banning the full-face coverings worn by a tiny number of women in Denmark took effect in the country.<\/p>\n

Denmark’s much-debated \u201cBurqa Ban\u201d is mostly seen as being directed at the conservative Muslim dress known as burqas, which conceal the entire face, and niqabs, which only show the eyes, in public places since Aug. 1. Both are extremely rare in Denmark.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a duty to support all women’s freedom of speech and freedom of thought,\u201d Reza Etamadi said of his MUF10 streetwear brand’s Copenhagen Fashion Week show in a statement.<\/p>\n

The government says the law is not aimed at any religion and does not ban headscarves like the more-common Muslim hijab, turbans or the traditional Jewish skull cap.<\/p>\n

The Danish law allows people to cover their face when there is a \u201crecognizable purpose\u201d like cold weather or complying with other legal requirements, such as using motorcycle helmets. Anyone forcing a person to wear garments covering the face by using force or threats can be fined or face up to two years in prison.<\/p>\n

Austria, France and Belgium have similar laws.<\/p>\n

By enforcing the ban, authorities are violating women’s rights and \u201cthe free choice we in the Western world are known for and proud to have,\u201d he said in connection with the semiannual fashion industry event.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Iran where I was born, women fight to freely choose what to wear,\u201d Etamadi said, adding \u201cIn Denmark, where I grew up, (…) women were free to choose how dressed or covered they wanted to dress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no unanimous attitude toward the ban in general but I have a principle: No man should decide what women should wear,\u201d Etamadi said the statement.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, a woman wearing a face veil became the first person in Denmark to be penalized for violating the new law, and was fined 1,000 Danish kroner ($156). Police asked her either to remove the veil or leave the premises. She opted to leave.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COPENHAGEN \u2014 An Iranian-born designer made more than a fashion statement in Denmark on Wednesday by showcasing models wearing the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":176025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,3,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-176022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fashion-and-beauty","category-lifestyle","category-news","mauthors-jan-m-olsen","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}