Sweden's second party proposes to ban the hijab
The election campaign is heating up in Sweden with the Democrats“ proposal to ban the hijab in public spaces. The equality spokesperson argues that ”there are other countries" where women can wear these garments.
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The second party in Sweden has put forward the proposal in the election campaign to ban all Islamic veils in public spaces, including the hijab. According to what has been explained the Swedish public broadcaster SVT, The party already advocated banning the burqa and the niqab and is now extending it to the headscarf. The proposal comes amid the pre-election campaign for the Swedish general election, scheduled for September 2026.
The Sweden Democrats (SD) They have gone from being a fringe party to becoming a central part of Swedish politics in little more than a decade.. They first entered Parliament in 2010, with 5.71% of the vote and 20 seats. In 2022 they came second, with 20.51% and 73 seats, just behind the Social Democrats, who won with 30.31%. Now the polls put them at around 18%, still as the second-largest party. The Sweden Democrats are key to maintaining the three-party government, although they have no management responsibilities. The governing parties agree to debate restrictions on the burqa, niqab or veil in schools but They don't want to talk about a general ban on the hijab like the one the Democrats are now proposing.
The spokeswoman: “If they want to bring the headscarf, there are other countries”
The Democrats of Sweden propose the total ban of headscarf as a measure of equality and a fight against honour-based oppression. In the official statement announcing the proposal, the party says it wants to introduce a total ban on the hijab, the niqab and the burqa in Sweden. According to the party, These pieces express a vision of women incompatible with the values of freedom and equality of Swedish society.. The party's new head of equality and honour policy, Sara Gille, sums it up like this: “Anyone who comes to Sweden must adapt to Sweden, not the other way around.”.
In statements to public broadcaster SVT, Gille defends that These veils “oppress women” and “promote female submission to men.”. When asked about the possible conflict with religious freedom, she replies that women can continue to practise their religion and believe whatever they want, but that Sweden must eliminate these practices if it wants to combat violence and oppression related to honour. Her response is direct: “If you enter Swedish borders, you have to take them off.”.
The spokeswoman also rejects the argument of women who claim to wear the veil voluntarily. She states that “We know that many girls and women are forced to wear these garments.”and that are“a symbol of control and of the subordination of women”. In an interview with Swedish Radio, Gille He maintains that the ban should also affect the Islamic headscarf, not just the burqa and the niqab.. “If you want to do it, there are other countries you can go to where they actually allow it.”", he says. In this way, the Sweden Democrats go from defending restrictions on face-covering garments to proposing a general ban on Islamic veils in public spaces.
No mosques, no Ramadan, no Muslim schools
The proposal on the hijab does not appear in isolation. It is part of a broader campaign against the public presence of Islam in Sweden. Anti-racism researchers have reviewed the Sweden Democrats' election material at national, youth, local and European levels and published their findings.
According to this review, the party repeats the same message in different areas: The construction of mosques must be curbed, Muslim religious expressions limited, and the visibility of Islam in public spaces reduced. Among the lemmas collected are calls to tear down mosques instead of building them, ban the call to prayer, prevent foreign funding of mosques, close Muslim schools and to halt the construction of new mosques throughout the European Union.
The campaign also includes messages directed against the social and cultural presence of Islam. Among the phrases detected are slogans such as “Ramadan does not belong to Sweden”, “Sweden will never become a Muslim country”, “We must stop the rise of Islam in Sweden.”or“Muslim immigration has created greater intolerance.”MEP Charlie Weimers has argued for halting the construction of mosques in Europe, while the party's youth wing has campaigned against Muslim names and against “Islamists.”.
The governing parties are keeping their distance
The SD's move against the hijab has shaken up the Swedish political debate in the midst of the pre-election campaign. The parties in the governing bloc have quickly distanced themselves: none of them currently supports a general ban on the hijab in all public spaces. Critics point out that the Sweden Democrats are shifting the debate from violent Islamism to the ordinary practice of Islam.
The Democrats of Sweden They have made criticism of Islam a central part of their discourse on national identity, immigration and integration.. They are not only talking about violent Islamism, but often about the visible presence of Islam: mosques, minarets, calls to prayer, Muslim schools, Ramadan, the hijab or the teaching of Arabic.
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