Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Thursday
Another attempted head scarf ban, political casualties of the mink scandal, and Danes still working from home are among the top news stories in Denmark on Thursday.
Danish People's Party to propose ban on headscarves in primary schools
Following a recommendation from the "Commission for the forgotten women's struggle," the Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti, DF) hopes to prevent primary school students from wearing headscarves, newswire Ritzau reports.
"Of course you shouldn't wear a headscarf when you live in Denmark. It is oppressive to women. Nobody is going to tell me that a ten-year-old girl decides for herself that she wants to wear a headscarf," says DF immigration and integration spokesperson Pia Kjærsgaard.
"The scarf is a very clear religious symbol, which does not at all show that you belong in Denmark. We do not wear headscarves in Denmark," Kjærsegaard adds.
DF has attempted to introduce similar bans in the past but has always failed to gather the necessary parliamentary support.
The Social Liberals (De Radikale, R) oppose a potential headscarf ban, pointing out there's no indication it would increase equality and a real chance it could further stigmatize women who choose to wear headscarves later.
"We think it looks difficult to fight social control with social control," says Sofie Carsten Nielsen of the Social Liberals. "After all, that's what it will be like if you forbid some girls to wear certain clothes. Then it is also a control that the state exercises."
READ MORE: OPINION: Denmark’s new citizenship requirements are discriminatory and racist
Mink fallout: two suspensions and a slap on the hand
Two high-ranking government officials have been relieved of duty due to their role in the culling of mink in 2020, which later investigation has revealed the government did not have legal grounds to conduct.
National police chief Thorkild Fogde and Henrik Studsgaard, head of department in the Ministry of the Environment, have both been sent home.
Meanwhile, Barbara Bertelsen, the head of department in the State Ministry who has taken much of the blame for the culling, retains her post and receives a warning. Johan Legarth, the Ministry of Justice's head of department, also stays on with a reprimand.
Psychiatry plan negotiations lack financial framework
Members of parliament were stymied by a lack of guidance from the government as to how the10-year plan for psychiatry is to be funded on the first day of negotiations on Wednesday, according to Ritzau.
"We didn't get very far," says Susanne Eilersen of DF. Debate closed after two hours on Wednesday and will resume September 6th and 9th.
READ MORE: Experts call for Denmark to spend billions on mental health services
One in ten Danish employees frequently work from home
More than 10 percent of Danish workers still work from home at least half of the time, according to data from Statistics Denmark on 2022's second quarter. That's only down 3.4 percent from the first quarter of the year, when pandemic restrictions were still in place.
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Danish People's Party to propose ban on headscarves in primary schools
Following a recommendation from the "Commission for the forgotten women's struggle," the Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti, DF) hopes to prevent primary school students from wearing headscarves, newswire Ritzau reports.
"Of course you shouldn't wear a headscarf when you live in Denmark. It is oppressive to women. Nobody is going to tell me that a ten-year-old girl decides for herself that she wants to wear a headscarf," says DF immigration and integration spokesperson Pia Kjærsgaard.
"The scarf is a very clear religious symbol, which does not at all show that you belong in Denmark. We do not wear headscarves in Denmark," Kjærsegaard adds.
DF has attempted to introduce similar bans in the past but has always failed to gather the necessary parliamentary support.
The Social Liberals (De Radikale, R) oppose a potential headscarf ban, pointing out there's no indication it would increase equality and a real chance it could further stigmatize women who choose to wear headscarves later.
"We think it looks difficult to fight social control with social control," says Sofie Carsten Nielsen of the Social Liberals. "After all, that's what it will be like if you forbid some girls to wear certain clothes. Then it is also a control that the state exercises."
READ MORE: OPINION: Denmark’s new citizenship requirements are discriminatory and racist
Mink fallout: two suspensions and a slap on the hand
Two high-ranking government officials have been relieved of duty due to their role in the culling of mink in 2020, which later investigation has revealed the government did not have legal grounds to conduct.
National police chief Thorkild Fogde and Henrik Studsgaard, head of department in the Ministry of the Environment, have both been sent home.
Meanwhile, Barbara Bertelsen, the head of department in the State Ministry who has taken much of the blame for the culling, retains her post and receives a warning. Johan Legarth, the Ministry of Justice's head of department, also stays on with a reprimand.
Psychiatry plan negotiations lack financial framework
Members of parliament were stymied by a lack of guidance from the government as to how the10-year plan for psychiatry is to be funded on the first day of negotiations on Wednesday, according to Ritzau.
"We didn't get very far," says Susanne Eilersen of DF. Debate closed after two hours on Wednesday and will resume September 6th and 9th.
READ MORE: Experts call for Denmark to spend billions on mental health services
One in ten Danish employees frequently work from home
More than 10 percent of Danish workers still work from home at least half of the time, according to data from Statistics Denmark on 2022's second quarter. That's only down 3.4 percent from the first quarter of the year, when pandemic restrictions were still in place.
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