The president of Kyrgyzstan claims women can become radicalised by wearing Islamic dress.
When speaking about a government-backed campaign aimed at getting women out of veils, Almazbek Atambayev said the country’s women had been ‘wearing miniskirts since the 1950s, and they never thought about wearing an explosive belt’.
‘You can wear even tarpaulin boots on your head, but do not organise bombings. This is not religion. Let them wear even miniskirts but there must not be any blasts,’ he said, according to the BBC.
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He said terrorists were “insane people” and clothes had the potential to “change one’s thoughts.” Speaking about a contentious government-backed campaign aimed at getting women to discard veils, Atambayev said women in Kyrgyzstan had been “wearing miniskirts since the 1950s and they never thought about wearing an explosive belt.”
“You can even wear tarpaulin boots on your head but do not organise bombings. This is not religion. Let them even wear miniskirts but there must not be any blasts,” he said, reports the BBC.
In a country where 80 per cent of the population is Muslim, Atambayev said dressing yourself in Islamic dress was not in line with traditional Kyrgyz culture and was a possible a sign of danger.
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Citing an investigation into a prison break, conversations between criminals and their wives revealed they wanted to “organise bombings” according to the President. “Their wives and mistresses wore sacks on their heads and they wanted to organise bombings,” he said. Atambayev’s government has recently been reproached over controversial banners that have been erected across the country which encourage women not to wear Islamic attire.
The banners feature photos of women wearing the traditional dress of Kyrgyzstan and women wearing burqas and niqabs. The words, “Poor people! Where are we heading to?” are inscribed on a red strip under the photos. In contrast, a Facebook group has also been created with supporters emphasising that the traditional dress of Kyrgyzstan was almost as conservative as Muslim dress.
Courtesy: Mail Online
