Is the burka compatible with our values? Is it degrading to women? Should it be completely banned? These were the questions posed to participants as part of Luxemburger Wort’s PolitMonitor survey.
Answered by both Luxembourgers and foreign residents, the results pretty much correlated each other. 57 percent of Luxembourgers and 65 percent of foreign residents said they “totally agree”.
At the other end of the scale, the figures fluctuate between the two sets of participants. “Totally disagree”, said nine percent of Luxembourgers while the figure was only three percent for foreigners. “I’m unable to judge”, said 11 percent of foreigners but only five percent of Luxembourgers.
As there have been several debates in Luxembourg concerning the wearing of the burka, should the communes decide and it be banned locally? Should it be banned by law, or not at all! This was put to the PolitMonitor participants.
The overwhelming majority replied that the burka should be banned by law with 75 percent of foreign residents and 74 percent of Luxembourgers. Only nine percent of foreign residents think the commune should make the decision while for Luxembourgers the figure is six percent.
However on the other end of the scale, 15 percent of Luxembourgers think that the burka should not be banned at all, while for foreigners it is eight percent.
It is important to note that despite the questions and debate in the Grand Duchy, only 16 women in the entire country are reported as burka wearers.