The Swedish consulate in Jerusalem has been forced to distance itself from a cartoon picture featuring a child in a hijab to celebrate the end of Ramadan, after a backlash from people accusing them of supporting the oppression of children.
The picture was posted to social media website Facebook on June 15th to mark Eid-al-Fitr, the traditional Muslim feast that marks the end of Ramadan, with the caption, “Eid Mubarak from Sweden!”
Source: Facebook
The consulate was slammed by many who commented on the picture, asking whether they supported the oppression of children as the young girl was wearing a hijab, Expressen reports.
In Sweden, the issue of honour-culture within the migrant community has grown over the years, with an estimated 240,000 young people living under its yoke. In some families, young girls are forced to wear hijabs and there have even been cases of violence from family members against girls who refuse to wear the garment.
Such an incident occurred earlier this year in Karlskrona, when a 19-year-old man was charged with abuse after hitting his 14-year-old sister with a baseball bat because she refused to wear an Islamic veil.
Experts who deal with honour culture violence say that after the 2015 migrant crisis they have seen a 50 percent increase in young people reaching out to them for help.
Six days after posting the picture, the consulate removed it and posted an apology: “The picture does not mean that the Consulate General is endorsing this.”
They added: “The Consulate General works to promote human rights as well as to strengthen the status of women and girls and their ability to enforce their rights. The Consulate General supports several civil society organizations working on these issues, and works to raise awareness about gender roles and how they affect women’s and girls’ opportunities in society,” they added.
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com
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