Gemma Nierga's program on TVE whitewashes the use of the burka

The Islamic veil is one of the most pressing current issues in Catalonia. The reason is a motion presented by Aliança Catalana in Parliament to ban the Islamic veil in schools and public buildings.

Broad sectors consider the Islamic veil a misogynistic imposition incompatible with Western values and gender equality. Meanwhile, the left defends it as a cultural trait and the right of women to their own bodies. In fact, they accuse those who propose banning the hijab, burka, or niqab of being far-right and Islamophobic.

Gemma Nierga's program on La 2 de TVE, El Cafè d'Idees, has also addressed this issue. However, its approach is at least controversial. They invited economist Najia Lofti, who argued that the "burka" is not a religious imposition but a cultural choice.

Lofti says that while the hijab is religious, the burka is cultural, and in Afghanistan, women wear it because "they want to." "Do they want to, or are they forced?" the surprised host asks. "It depends on each person's interpretations," the guest replies.

Whitewashing misogyny in a public medium

It is shocking to whitewash misogyny in this way in a public medium that has the duty to promote gender equality. The reactions have not been long in coming. Dozens of messages from outraged viewers have criticized the network.

People say that mentioning Afghanistan was not the best idea, as the Taliban regime there made the burka mandatory. X users are appalled to see a woman defending the burka on public television that we all pay for. "It whitewashes the burka and the Taliban's oppression of women," says one comment.

A human and civil rights protection expert, Jesús Rodríguez, says that "it's the most disgusting thing I've seen." He wishes that "the host and directors be prosecuted for advocating terrorism."

"I find it intolerable to give such misogynistic and sexist messages on public television," states another outraged viewer. They call the guest "ultra-Islamist" and Gemma Nierga's program "an accomplice" in the abolition of women's rights.

"Wearing the veil is not a right"

TV3 has shown more fairness this time by approaching the controversy from another perspective. The Catalan public television invited Muslim-origin activist Mimunt Hamido Yahia, who opposes the veil. The activist has given a lesson to the Catalan left.

"Wearing the veil is not a right," she stated bluntly, "it's a patriarchal and sexist tool." She warns that it is a "political tool" to "make Islamism visible in public spaces." She criticized both the radical right represented by Sílvia Orriols and the left, saying that "they are not interested" in women and girls.