Is this the third or the fourth wave? It’s hard to keep track. No, I’m not talking about Covid. I’m referring to the latest resurgence of the #MeToo movement in Denmark. While the country should have been worrying about breakthrough infections from the delta variant or how to evacuate the army’s Afghan interpreters from Kabul, the problem of unwanted male attention toward women refuses to go away. The past couple of weeks saw a photo of Naser Khader, Member of Parliament, baring his shoulders, and others of celebrities and ordinary citizens baring their bellies. What’s going on? Lots, some of it stupid, some sad, and some comical.

Sofie Linde and husband in solidarity with schoolgirls on Instagram

Swift justice
Khader was posting from a vacation in Syria, his homeland, that he was ready to end his sick leave from Parliament and get back to work. Many observers found the sunbathing look rather ill-conceived, considering Khader’s circumstances. He had taken a leave of absence in April after he threatened to go to the employers of several journalists who had been critical of him. In July came an investigative report (DK) that he had molested and harassed at least five women over a period of two decades, pressuring one to have sex with him and masturbating in front of another.

Last week the Conservative Party reported on the corroborating findings of its own internal investigation and promptly disowned Khader (DK). Khader, 58, whose family emigrated from Syria when he was 11, was a veteran politician. He entered Parliament with the Social Liberal Party in 2001, co-founded the New Alliance Party in 2007, and switched to the Conservatives in 2009. No matter which party he represented, he was always critical of the subjugation of women in Islamic communities. Khader dismisses and denounces all the charges against him.

Model offender
Kristian Hegaard was at the opposite stage of his career from Khader. Only 30 years old, this Social Liberal was the first proper Member of Parliament to be a wheelchair user. He was said to be a talented, conscientious, and promising legislator. Most people were taken by surprise when he announced that he was resigning from Parliament (DK) because he had learned that he had exhibited “offensive behavior” at a party function – “had learned” because Hegaard said that he was so drunk he couldn’t remember the events in question. 

Also in contrast to Khader, Hegaard was as contrite as possible, announcing that he would seek help to ensure that the behavior doesn’t recur. Some wondered how aggressive his actions could have been from his wheelchair, but he received praise for resigning immediately instead of taking a fake sick leave and staying on the public payroll. This kind of decision was not entirely novel for the Social Liberal Party. Morten Østergaard, its former chair, resigned in October 2020 because of inappropriate sexual conduct toward a colleague.

Khader and Hegaard were their parties’ spokesperson for legal affairs. Seven of the 11 political parties represented in the Danish Parliament are led by women.

“Don’t know much biology”
Meanwhile, in the town of Vejle, Jutland, the principal at Firehøje Elementary School banned “crop tops” (DK), half-blouses that expose the abdomen, because they were distracting the classes from their studies (elementary schools go up to ninth grade here). Feminist groups went into action against this assault on freedom of expression, launching #DeterBareMaver (“They’re only stomachs – a pun on “bare,” which means both “only” and “bare”). Celebrity supporters who bared their own waists in solidarity included TV presenter Sofie Linde, who had re-ignited #MeToo in August 2020 when she reported sexual harassment and threats from Danish Broadcasting Corporation management. 

“It’s not the girls’ responsibility that their principal and the boys in the class can’t concentrate when they see a navel,” wrote Linde on Instagram. Former Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt and current MPs also expressed their support, some by showing skin and others verbally. After this uproar, the Firehøje School board took stock of the situation and decided that the school did not have a ban on crop tops after all. Now, after a week all covered up, the kids can get back to their debate on the constitutionality of Denmark’s burqa ban.