Kyrgyz president claims women can get radicalised by wearing burqas

Women have been 'wearing miniskirts since the 1950s and they never thought about wearing an explosive belt'

Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev wants women to wear miniskirts instead of burqas because it makes them less likely to become terrorists.

He said terrorists were "insane people" and clothes had the potential to "change one's thoughts." Speaking about a contentious government-backed campaign aimed at getting women to discard veils, Atambayev said women in Kyrgyzstan had been "wearing miniskirts since the 1950s and they never thought about wearing an explosive belt."



"You can even wear tarpaulin boots on your head but do not organise bombings. This is not religion. Let them even wear  miniskirts but there must not be any blasts," he said, reports the BBC.

In a country where 80 per cent of the population is Muslim, Atambayev said dressing yourself in Islamic dress was not in line with traditional Kyrgyz culture and was a possible a sign of danger.

Citing an investigation into a prison break, conversations between criminals and their wives revealed they wanted to "organise bombings" according to the President. "Their wives and mistresses wore sacks on their heads and they wanted to organise bombings," he said.  Atambayev's government has recently been reproached over controversial banners that have been erected across the country which encourage women not to wear Islamic attire.



The banners feature photos of women wearing the traditional dress of Kyrgyzstan and women wearing burkas and niqabs. The words, "Poor people! Where are we heading to?" are inscribed on a red strip under the photos. In contrast, a Facebook group has also been created with supporters emphasising that the traditional dress of Kyrgyzstan was almost as conservative as Muslim dress.

This article originally appeared on Mail Online