In what can be described as a fitting response to Anders Breivik’s
brutal assault on Norwegian multiculturalism, Prime Minister Jens
Stoltenberg appointed a 29-year-old Muslim woman of Pakistani origin the
new Culture Minister. Hadia Tajik is the first Muslim and youngest
Minister ever in Norwegian political history. Ms. Tajik, who has degrees
in law and journalism and has been a career politician in Norway’s
Labour Party, was appointed in a Cabinet reshuffle.
‘Courageous move’
“This is a very courageous move on the part of the Prime Minister. She
is an extremely intelligent person and has been an activist all her
life. I would describe this as an important decision for Norway that
will go a long way to prove that we are a truly multicultural society,”
Dag Herbjornsrud, editor of the influential paper Ny Tid told The Hindu in
a telephone conversation. “It was important that Norway proved this to
the world, but it’s even more important that we proved this to
ourselves.”
Ms. Tajik has already declared that cultural diversity should become
more integral to the life of her fellow citizens. She said her programme
would focus on how this reflected on Norwegian society as a whole. The
programme will delve into the protection of minority rights, whether
cultural or racial.
“Hadia is not a foreigner. She was born here, on the West coast of
Norway in a small village or district which is home to 600 people. She
might have done degrees from Oslo and from the U.K. but she remains very
rooted and even speaks the West country dialect from Strand. We hope
she will be a peacemaker, especially during the troubled times we are
currently witnessing, her former Professor said.
The right message
Carima, a young woman of Moroccan descent, told The Hindu: “I am
really happy and I think this is an excellent appointment. She is
Norwegian and at the same time she is a Muslim and a woman. She is
educated and forward looking. Right now Norway has gone through a very
difficult period with the killings on Utoya Island by Anders Breivik,
followed by his trial. That re-opened many wounds. This sends out the
right message that Norway has opted for an open, multicultural democracy
and people like Breivik will not be able to push us off that path.”
A report in The Hindu. Here
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