Speaking on Tuesday morning about how the discussion for the possibility of banning the burqa opened, Thanos Plevris explained that it began after observations in illegal migrant facilities where underage girls were being targeted by men because they were not wearing a burqa.

“We are monitoring legislation across all countries and whether rules and bans should be introduced regarding the burqa. We are not talking about a religious symbol—those are respected. The issue is whether a religious symbol reaches the point of violating a woman’s dignity,” Plevris told SKAI TV.

He also explained that “in our facilities, Ms. Voloudaki observed cases where even young girls were wearing burqas, and discussions revealed that if they did not wear them, they were being targeted by men from the same community. Are we talking about free will when, once a girl reaches puberty, she is expected to cover her features?”

He further described that “the Austrian minister told us they had a phenomenon where girls who normally attended school began wearing burqas once they reached puberty and reacted against it. As a result, some parents started putting burqas on children from an earlier age so they would get used to it and not resist.”

“What concerns us as a ministry is mainly the population in the facilities, especially minors. Let someone tell me that an 8-year-old girl has freedom of choice. Religions are also judged: there are religions that allow polygamy and child marriages with older men. When someone has been raised to hide her features, does that align with European culture?” the minister asked.

He also noted that “part of the legislation in European countries also relates to security and identification issues,” and clarified that “the discussion I initiated is within the framework of rulings by the European Court of Human Rights. Muslim women had appealed, and it was ruled that religious symbols cannot go so far as to violate human dignity. Since the phenomenon is still limited in Greece, that is why we need to act now.”