COPENHAGEN: An Iranian-born designer made more than a fashion statement in Denmark on Wednesday by showcasing models wearing the conservative Muslim niqab, and others dressed as police officers, days after a law banning the full-face coverings worn by a tiny number of women in Denmark took effect in the country.
Denmark’s much-debated “Burqa Ban” is mostly seen as being directed at the conservative Muslim dress known as burqas, which conceal the entire face, and niqabs, which only show the eyes, in public places since Aug. 1. Both are extremely rare in Denmark.
“I have a duty to support all women’s freedom of speech and freedom of thought,” Reza Etamadi said of his MUF10 streetwear brand’s Copenhagen Fashion Week show in a statement.
The government says the law is not aimed at any religion and does not ban headscarves like the more-common Muslim hijab, turbans or the traditional Jewish skull cap.
The Danish law allows people to cover their face when there is a “recognizable purpose” like cold weather or complying with other legal requirements, such as using motorcycle helmets. Anyone forcing a person to wear garments covering the face by using force or threats can be fined or face up to two years in prison.
Austria, France and Belgium have similar laws.
By enforcing the ban, authorities are violating women’s rights and “the free choice we in the Western world are known for and proud to have,” he said in connection with the semiannual fashion industry event.
“In Iran where I was born, women fight to freely choose what to wear,” Etamadi said, adding “In Denmark, where I grew up, (...) women were free to choose how dressed or covered they wanted to dress.”
“I have no unanimous attitude toward the ban in general but I have a principle: No man should decide what women should wear,” Etamadi said the statement.
On Sunday, a woman wearing a face veil became the first person in Denmark to be penalized for violating the new law, and was fined 1,000 Danish kroner ($156). Police asked her either to remove the veil or leave the premises. She opted to leave.
Danish designer uses runway to make statement on burqa ban
Danish designer uses runway to make statement on burqa ban
- “I have a duty to support all women’s freedom of speech and freedom of thought,” Reza Etamadi said
- A law banning the full-face coverings worn by a number of women in Denmark took effect in the country
Second doctor in Matthew Perry overdose case sentenced to home confinement
- Dr. Mark Chavez, 55, a onetime San Diego-based physician, pleaded guilty in federal court in October
- Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also sentenced Chavez to 300 hours of community service
LOS ANGELES: A second California doctor was sentenced on Tuesday to eight months of home confinement for illegally supplying “Friends” star Matthew Perry with ketamine, the powerful sedative that caused the actor’s fatal drug overdose in a hot tub in 2023.
Dr. Mark Chavez, 55, a onetime San Diego-based physician, pleaded guilty in federal court in October to a single felony count of conspiracy to distribute the prescription anesthetic and surrendered his medical license in November.
Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also sentenced Chavez to 300 hours of community service. As part of his plea agreement, Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to another physician Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, who in turn supplied the drug to Perry, though not the dose that ultimately killed the performer. Plasencia, who pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful drug distribution, was sentenced earlier this month to 2 1/2 years behind bars.
He and Chavez were the first two of five people convicted in connection with Perry’s ketamine-induced death to be sent off to prison.
The three others scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks — Jasveen Sangha, 42, a drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen;” a go-between dealer Erik Fleming, 56; and Perry’s former personal assistant, Iwamasa, 60.
Sangha admitted to supplying the ketamine dose that killed Perry, and Iwamasa acknowledged injecting Perry with it. It was Iwamasa who later found Perry, aged 54, face down and lifeless, in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023.
An autopsy report concluded the actor died from the acute effects of ketamine,” which combined with other factors in causing him to lose consciousness and drown.
Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s NBC television series “Friends.”
According to federal law enforcement officials, Perry had been receiving ketamine infusions for treatment of depression and anxiety at a clinic where he became addicted to the drug.
When doctors there refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous providers elsewhere willing to exploit Perry’s drug dependency as a way to make quick money, authorities said. Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties that is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders. It also has seen widespread abuse as an illicit party drug.
