Norway’s Progress Party wants a burqini ban

From the Norwegian edition of The Local

A high-ranking member of Norway’s anti-immigration Progress Party wants the Nordic nation to follow the lead of some 30 French towns by banning the burqini, a full-body swimsuit worn by some Muslim women.

Aina Stenersen, the Progress Party’s leader in Oslo, said the burqini is oppressive and thus plans to introduce a proposal to bar it from Norwegian beaches. “The Progress Party is very concerned about integration. Therefore, we believe that in some instances, we must implement bans if it concerns things that inhibit integration,” Stenersen told Aftenposten.

“I believe that the burqini is on par with the niqab as a garment that oppresses women. It is a cloth prison, which doesn’t promote integration, but inhibits it,” she said. She said that the fine for breaking such a ban in should be 500 kroner, nearly twice as much as the €30 fine in France. 

Progress is currently crafting a new party programme, and the proposed burqini ban is expected to be included.