Isam B defends calling niqab feminist despite political backlash

Musician Isam B is standing by his claim that wearing a niqab can be a feminist act, despite criticism from politicians and the Danish Women’s Society, DR reports.

“I think one of the most feminist things you can do is put on a headscarf or even a niqab, where you are just a ninja. Because it is extremely provocative. We men want to see you, but you can see us and we cannot see you,” he said recently on the podcast Platformen.

Politicians from both sides of the political spectrum, including the Denmark Democrats and the Red-Green Alliance, have reacted angrily. The chairwoman of the Danish Women’s Society told Berlingske she got “a migraine just thinking about it”.

But Isam B, whose legal name is Isam Bachiri, has not changed his view.

“My point is simply that a woman’s self-determination, which is also why I use the word feminism, is about her choice. And if she chooses to cover herself, that is her freedom,” he said on P1 Morgen.

“I think society should be able to accommodate that, just as it is her choice if she wants to wear a low-cut top or whatever,” Isam B said.

In Denmark, wearing a niqab or burka in public has been prohibited since 2018. It is punishable by a fine, as is other face covering, unless it serves a “recognisable purpose”. The law was introduced partly to combat negative social control.

That argument has also been raised by critics of Isam B’s comments.

“It is an insult to the thousands of women around the world who are forced to cover themselves. It is a deeply reactionary view of women and men,” Pelle Dragsted, the Red-Green Alliance’s political spokesperson, wrote on X.

Susie Jessen, the Denmark Democrats’ political spokesperson, called Isam B a “woman-hater” and wrote that women in Denmark should not be “sexualised and packed into tents to shield themselves from men’s gazes”.

“I am adding nuance to the debate”

Isam B said on P1 Morgen that niqab use in Denmark should not automatically be associated with the oppression of women. He said he was “sad about all the criticism” and stressed that social control and oppression are wrong and must be fought.

Asked whether his message could help preserve a norm that makes women want to wear headscarves, he rejected the suggestion.

“No, I do not think so. I actually think I am adding nuance to this debate. And I think it needs that,” he said.

“There is also a freedom in choosing to cover yourself,” he added.

He said it was unfortunate that discussions about the ways women can cover or dress themselves so often focused on coercion or oppression.

Isam B said women who defy the law by wearing a niqab were making a “powerful statement” and expressing “fearlessness”.

He said the issue was not about men but about women’s right to decide for themselves.

“She decides. She says, I decide what you are allowed to see of me. In my view, that is a feminist action,” Isam B said.

He ended by questioning whether women in Denmark have the right to decide for themselves what they wear when the majority does not understand their choice.