According to Mariam Salem who is one of the organizers in Umeå, it is about manifesting for the right to be able to choose one's life and how to dress.
- Whether you wear or take off the veil, it is the individual's choice. The essence is that you have to choose yourself, says Mariam Salem to SVT.
What do you say to those who are critical of this manifestation?
- Some have interpreted this as a garment for oppression. And if there is a compulsion to put on the veil then there is oppression, but it is also oppression to be forced to take off, says Mariam Salem.
She is elected to the Environment Party, but says the manifestation is unpolitical. That several parties arranged an equality lecture at the same time as the manifestation means she is ignorant.
- They have missed the message of why we do the manifestation. We do this with a gender perspective, just like them, says Mariam Salem.