Invoking women’s rights, Plevris appears to be considering legislation that would in practice violate women’s right to self-determination in matters of dress and religious observance.
The question submitted by the Greek Solution MP carried the loaded title: ‘Legislative regulation for the prohibition of full face coverage in the light of harmonious social coexistence and democratic order.’
Responding directly to the Islamophobic question, Plevris said the government is examining what applies in other countries. Although he acknowledged that the use of the burqa is not widespread in Greece and linked the issue to cases in which women are pressured by men, he left open the possibility of a legislative initiative, saying he would provide further details in the near future.
‘We are still in the examination stage. I cannot give you an exact timetable or the scope of the regulation. I will be ready to tell you in the near future. At this stage, we are examining the regulatory framework implemented by other countries and the relevant case law,’ he said, adding that research by Deputy Minister of Migration Sevi Voloudaki found that only a small number of girls wear the burqa.
‘A few girls who live in juvenile facilities or semi-autonomous structures wear a burqa, but many of them are forced to make these choices because otherwise they are targeted by men,’ he said, invoking rights issues that do not lend themselves to a quantitative approach.
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