Europe's First Hijab-Clad Lawmaker

Making history as Europe's first ever hijab-clad lawmaker, Belgian MP Mahinur Ozdemir hopes to shatter some of the misperceptions about the Muslim head cover.

"Underneath this veil there is a personality,"

Ozdemir told euronews on Wednesday, June 24.
She is the first and only lawmaker across Europe who dons the Muslim headscarf.
The swearing in ceremony was attended by MPs and members of the Muslim community who cheered her election as a step forward for the minority.Ozdemir wants to be recognized for her achievements and not her headwear.
Mahinur Ozdemir, a 26-year-old political science graduate was sworn in as a member of parliament in Brussels for the Humanist Democratic Centre, formerly the Francophone Christian Democrat party – wearing a Muslim headscarf, Belgian and Turkish media reported.
An attempt by the Liberal Party to introduce an amendment banning the wearing of religious symbols in parliament failed.

"Unfortunately, I have been reduced to nothing more than this scarf, and frankly it is hard to remove yourself from it," media reports quoted Ozdemir, who is of Turkish descent, as saying.

"Underneath this veil there is a personality, there is someone who is engaged, who wants things to change, who wants to move forward and execute lots of projects for the people of Brussels."

She said she intended continuing to wear the headscarf during her term in parliament.

Expatica.com said that in Antwerp, the wearing of headscarves and other religious symbols would be banned from the new term beginning in September 2009.

In France, which has seen continuing controversy about the wearing of headscarves – forbidden by the ban on religious symbols in schools – president Nicolas Sarkozy took a strong line on June 22, saying that the burqa was not a religious symbol but a "symbol of servitude and humiliation".Sarkozy told the national assembly that the burqa was not welcome on French soil.
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Note: Firstly, I wish all the best for Miss Mahinur Ozdemir. InsyaAllah, Muslims all over the world will pray for your success as you are the ambassador Of Islam as I see it..Secondly,for your information, regarding the Burqa ,it is not only controversial in France, but it's also happening in several countries as put by Times database :
— In France a law was passed in 2004 banning pupils from wearing "conspicuous" religious symbols at state schools, a move widely interpreted as aimed at the Muslim headscarf

— In Turkey where 99 per cent of the population is Muslim, all forms of Muslim headscarf have been banned in universities for decades under the secular government. In June 2008 the country's Consitutional Court overruled government attempts to lift the ban, prompting protests

— In Britain guidelines say that the full Islamic veil should not be worn in courts, but the final decision is up to judges. Schools may forge their own dress codes and in 2006, courts upheld the suspension of Aishah Azmi, a Muslim teaching assistant who refused to remove her veil in class

— German states have the option of choosing to ban teachers and other government employees from wearing Muslim headscarves; four have done so

—The Italian parliament in July 2005 approved anti-terrorist laws that make hiding one's features from the public — including through wearing the burla — an offence

— Tunisia, a Muslim country, has banned Islamic headscarves in public places since 1981. In 2006 authorities began a campaign against the headscarves and began strictly enforcing the ban

— The Dutch Government said in 2007 that it was drawing up legislation to ban burkas, but it was defeated in elections in November and the new centrist coalition said it had no plans to implement a ban

Nevertheless,it is to be noted that, In Islam,Hijab is not an oppression and with regard to Burqa, As far as I am concerned, it is not a compulsory thing to be practised..AllahuA'lam(Allah knows best)

Source :Islamonline.Net & http://sofiaecho.com/2009/06/24/742994_headscarf-wearing-belgian-mp-sworn-in