Merit Wager wrote that Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen had said that Finland should not accept traditions, cultures, or customs that limited girls' freedom. According to the Swedish translation that Wager shared, Valtonen believed that girls and women should be able to decide over their own lives, and that religious or cultural norms should not be used to restrict their freedom. Wager also recounted Valtonen's statement that the National Coalition Party wanted to ban face-covering garments, such as the burqa and niqab, in schools and other educational institutions. Valtonen had said that the government led by the National Coalition Party had strengthened the rights of girls and women by more clearly criminalizing forced marriages and female genital mutilation. She had described female genital mutilation as violence and said that every girl had the right to bodily integrity. According to Wager's account, Valtonen also emphasized that equality, individual freedom, and human rights should not be overridden by references to religion, culture, or tradition. Every girl should have the right to be seen, heard, dream, and shape her future based on her own desires, she had said. #Jämställdhet #MänskligaRättigheter #KvinnorsRättigheter (translated)
