The president of Kyrgyzstan says 'Women in mini skirts don't become suicide bombers'

The president of Kyrgystan caused a stir in the majority-Muslim country by suggesting conservative Islamic clothing is erasing Kyrgyz culture and fostering extremism. President Almazbek Atambayev was responding to criticism of a poster campaign his administration produced which contrasted traditional Kyrgyz attire with images of women wearing niqabs and burkas.

"When we erected banners some smart people appeared and started pointing at miniskirts," he said. "Our women have been wearing miniskirts since the 1950s, and they never thought about wearing an explosive belt. You can wear even tarpaulin boots on your head, but do not organize bombings. This is not religion. Let them wear even miniskirts but there must not be any blasts." Atambayev sarcastically offered to ship to Syria any Kyrgyz citizens who prefer Islamic radicalism to their own culture.

A former Soviet republic located north of Afghanistan and adjacent to China, Kyrgyzstan does not have quite the record of liberalism Atambayev suggests. In 2013, the nation went into uproar when its parliament overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution that was originally rumored to mandate parental permission slips for women under 23 to travel out of the country.

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