read one of the commission\u2019s recommendations<\/a>.<\/p>\nBut how many people actually wear niqabs at Danish educational institutions?<\/p>\n
The University Post asked a scholar of Islam and professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen, Thomas Hoffmann:<\/p>\n
\u00bbI haven\u2019t done fieldwork or conducted a major survey, but if you walk around campus, you won\u2019t see anyone wearing a niqab. As far as I know, the phenomenon doesn\u2019t exist at the University of Copenhagen or at any other Danish university,\u00ab he said.<\/p>\n
But if no one is veiled at the universities, then what\u2019s the point of extending the ban?<\/em><\/p>\n\u00bb[The Minister for Immigration and Integration, ed.] Stoklund speaks of due diligence. If you look at trends in European countries like France, Belgium and the UK, there has been a rise in the number of women wearing niqabs, which has then led to various forms of state and legal interventions. So the due diligence argument has merit. But I also think they want to do it because they want to make a principled statement about face-covering,\u00ab said Thomas Hoffmann, and continued:<\/p>\n
\u00bbAnd from a practical and pedagogical perspective, it is challenging \u2014 whether it\u2019s a niqab or a balaclava \u2014 if someone has facewear on during face-to-face communication. It\u2019s like being on a Zoom call where one person has a black screen and the other person is visible. There\u2019s a kind of asymmetry in that.\u00ab<\/p>\n
The commission\u2019s recommendation implies that face-covering is a form of social control. What does the research say?<\/em><\/p>\n\u00bbThe research is very divided \u2014 also on this point. A classical feminist view would say that face-covering specifically of women \u2014 and only women \u2014 erases the woman as an individual in civil society, and that it is therefore a gender-discriminatory, pre-modern and patriarchal practice. But feminism today is many different things. Others would argue that covering up is about free choice.\u00ab<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your own academic assessment?<\/em><\/p>\n\u00bbI am prepared to stand by the principle that face-covering \u2014 in principle \u2014 erases the individual. But it\u2019s a classic dilemma of freedom that I think should be up for debate. It\u2019s a philosophically, pedagogically and politically fascinating issue, and that\u2019s why we should talk about it \u2014 hopefully in a way where opposing views are heard and the issue is discussed in a deliberative manner,\u00ab says Thomas Hoffmann.<\/p>\n
The government\u2019s plans come shortly after the University of Copenhagen chose to close its retreat rooms, which were primarily used as prayer rooms by Muslim students.<\/p>\n
The University Post has asked UCPH management to comment on the government\u2019s plans, but they do not wish to comment on the issue.<\/p>\n
This article was first written in Danish and published on 19 December 2025. It has been translated into English and post-edited by Mike Young.<\/em>
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Plans to ban the face veil at the country\u2019s educational institutions follow recommendations from a former government’s women\u2019s rights commission. Scholar of Islam says he has never actually seen a niqab there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":186047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-186046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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veils","text":"This is a story about what will follow","use_post_excerpt":true},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":false,"contributors":[{"use_registered_user":true,"user":{"ID":110,"user_firstname":"Malthe","user_lastname":"Granau","nickname":"Malthe_Granau","user_nicename":"malthe_granau","display_name":"Malthe Granau","user_email":"malthe.granau@adm.ku.dk","user_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/","user_registered":"2025-10-06 08:51:55","user_description":"","user_avatar":"<img alt='' src='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b138ad7ddcb02836f970efb1640e0634158dbaa8e0065fdbd8fd1a47bf73f342?s=96&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b138ad7ddcb02836f970efb1640e0634158dbaa8e0065fdbd8fd1a47bf73f342?s=192&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-96 photo' height='96' width='96' loading='lazy' decoding='async'\/>"},"contributor_name":"","contributor_title":"","contributor_image":false},{"use_registered_user":true,"user":{"ID":106,"user_firstname":"Martin Juhl","user_lastname":"","nickname":"Martin_Juhl","user_nicename":"martin_juhl_petersen","display_name":"Martin Juhl","user_email":"mjp@uniavisen.dk","user_url":"","user_registered":"2024-03-11 12:15:37","user_description":"","user_avatar":"<img alt='' src='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1797e6a2f5504b0011d25ea810ff777cf9961880304ebea2975858e118970e05?s=96&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1797e6a2f5504b0011d25ea810ff777cf9961880304ebea2975858e118970e05?s=192&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-96 photo' height='96' width='96' loading='lazy' decoding='async'\/>"},"contributor_name":"","contributor_title":"","contributor_image":false}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>The Danish government wants to extend a ban on face veils in public spaces to also apply to educational institutions.<\/p>\n<p>This was announced by Minister for Immigration and Integration Rasmus Stoklund (Social Democrats) before the end-of-year break.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBurkas, niqabs or other garments that cover people’s faces have no place in Danish classrooms. A ban on face-covering already applies to public spaces, and it should naturally also apply to places of education,\u00ab the minister stated in a press release.<\/p>\n<p>The current ban primarily targets Islamic head coverings and came into effect in August 2018. It prohibits garments that cover the face, unless there is a \u00bbworthy purpose\u00ab for doing so.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe think it\u2019s only natural that the same rules apply when you\u2019re at school or in a place of education,\u00ab the Minister for Higher Education and Science Christina Egelund said in the government\u2019s press release.<\/p>\n<p>The government expects to present a bill with the extended ban in February 2026.<\/p>\n<h3>Due diligence or politics of principle?<\/h3>\n<p>The proposal comes in the wake of a so-called ‘commission for the overlooked women\u2019s rights struggle’ that was set up by the former, Social Democrat, government in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>The commission had the purpose of ensuring that minority women have the same rights as other women in Denmark, and its work resulted in 13 recommendations, which were presented in January 2025.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I am prepared to stand by the principle that face-covering \u2014 in principle \u2014 erases the individual<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Thomas Hoffmann, Islam scholar and professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbIt should be ensured that institutions do not have systems that enable honour-based violence and social control, and for this reason the existing face-covering ban, which applies in public spaces, should also apply to educational institutions,\u00ab <a href=\"https:\/\/denglemtekvindekamp.dk\/media\/smoflydk\/anbefalinger-kommissionen-for-den-glemte-kvindekamp.pdf\">read one of the commission\u2019s recommendations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But how many people actually wear niqabs at Danish educational institutions?<\/p>\n<p>The University Post asked a scholar of Islam and professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen, Thomas Hoffmann:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI haven\u2019t done fieldwork or conducted a major survey, but if you walk around campus, you won\u2019t see anyone wearing a niqab. As far as I know, the phenomenon doesn\u2019t exist at the University of Copenhagen or at any other Danish university,\u00ab he said.<\/p>\n<p><em>But if no one is veiled at the universities, then what\u2019s the point of extending the ban?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bb[The Minister for Immigration and Integration, ed.] Stoklund speaks of due diligence. If you look at trends in European countries like France, Belgium and the UK, there has been a rise in the number of women wearing niqabs, which has then led to various forms of state and legal interventions. So the due diligence argument has merit. But I also think they want to do it because they want to make a principled statement about face-covering,\u00ab said Thomas Hoffmann, and continued:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbAnd from a practical and pedagogical perspective, it is challenging \u2014 whether it\u2019s a niqab or a balaclava \u2014 if someone has facewear on during face-to-face communication. It\u2019s like being on a Zoom call where one person has a black screen and the other person is visible. There\u2019s a kind of asymmetry in that.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p><em>The commission\u2019s recommendation implies that face-covering is a form of social control. What does the research say?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe research is very divided \u2014 also on this point. A classical feminist view would say that face-covering specifically of women \u2014 and only women \u2014 erases the woman as an individual in civil society, and that it is therefore a gender-discriminatory, pre-modern and patriarchal practice. But feminism today is many different things. Others would argue that covering up is about free choice.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p><em>What\u2019s your own academic assessment?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI am prepared to stand by the principle that face-covering \u2014 in principle \u2014 erases the individual. But it\u2019s a classic dilemma of freedom that I think should be up for debate. It\u2019s a philosophically, pedagogically and politically fascinating issue, and that\u2019s why we should talk about it \u2014 hopefully in a way where opposing views are heard and the issue is discussed in a deliberative manner,\u00ab says Thomas Hoffmann.<\/p>\n<p>The government\u2019s plans come shortly after the University of Copenhagen chose to close its retreat rooms, which were primarily used as prayer rooms by Muslim students.<\/p>\n<p>The University Post has asked UCPH management to comment on the government\u2019s plans, but they do not wish to comment on the issue.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article was first written in Danish and published on 19 December 2025. It has been translated into English and post-edited by Mike Young.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"en","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Get an email with upcoming events and top University of Copenhagen stories","button_text":"Sign up here","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":48,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":48,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1035,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11489,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[{"term_id":5468,"name":"Optional","slug":"optional-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5468,"taxonomy":"translation_priority","description":"","parent":0,"count":672,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/burka_polfoto-1280x853.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186046"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186080,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186046\/revisions\/186080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}