Sweden: Failing to wear hijab would break law

LOS ANGELES, United States (Kurdistan24) – Sweden on Tuesday defended its officials’ decision to wear the hijab while visiting Iran, saying doing otherwise would break the law.

Trade Minister Ann Linde and other female members wore headscarves and long coats while visiting Iranian leaders last week.

Politicians and activists criticized the decision of the government as an act of undermining Iranian women’s protest to the compulsory hijab. 

Critics see the behavior in contrast with the fight for gender equality which the Swedish feminist government claims to stand for.

“It is ruinous to what is called a feminist foreign policy,” Liberal party chief Jan Bjorklund was quoted by the BBC, stating Iran oppressed women through legislation.

Critics say the feminist politicians should have refused to wear the hijab and if their request was denied, the meeting should have been held elsewhere.  

However, the Trade Minister told the Aftonbladet newspaper the only other option would be to send an all-male delegation, and by law, she was required to wear a headscarf.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, who was also in Iran, said he raised human rights issues with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

As a Muslim-majority nation, an Islamic dress code is imposed in Iran forcing women to cover their body and hair.

Many Iranian women view the strict dress code a breach of their rights, considering a group of Jews, Christians, Baha’ies, and other religious minorities live in Iran and have to abide by the law.

UN Watch, a human rights NGO in Geneva, said the Swedish government’s behavior was in contrast with Stockholm’s promise to promote an international “gender equality perspective.”

The NGO added it was counterproductive to the government’s “feminist foreign policy” where “equality between women and men [was] a fundamental aim.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany