Christine Defraigne (born 1962) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

politician and a member of the MR. She was the President of the

Belgian Senate The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Sénat, ; german: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parlia ...

, in office 2014 to 2018.

Political views

In 2009 Christine Defraigne proposed a nationwide ban of the

burqa A burqa or a burka, or , and ur, , it is also transliterated as burkha, bourkha, burqua or burqu' or borgha' and is pronounced natively . It is generally pronounced in the local variety of Arabic or variety of Persian, which varies. Examp ...

. She has also called the

burkini A burkini (or burqini; portmanteau of burqa and bikini, though qualifying as neither of these garments) is a style of swimsuit for women. The suit covers the whole body except the face, the hands and the feet, while being light enough for swimm ...

a "rejection of the freedom of women". Her proposal (together with Joseph Arens) to stop slaughtering animals without anesthesia (like

ritual slaughter Ritual slaughter is the practice of slaughtering livestock for meat in the context of a ritual. Ritual slaughter involves a prescribed practice of slaughtering an animal for food production purposes. Ritual slaughter as a mandatory practice of sla ...

) resulted in a ban on this practice in

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

. She is a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

Criticism

Christine Defraigne meeting with Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran 06

In 2016 she was criticized for wearing a headscarf while visiting

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. Her decision to visit the country and wear a hijab was heavily criticized by Iranian born Belgian activist

Darya Safai Darya Safai ( fa, دریا صفایی, born 7 April 1975) is an Iranian-Belgian author, human rights activist and politician who has been a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the New Flemish Alliance since 2019. Early life and ed ...

who accused Defraigne of condoning oppressive policies created by the Iranian government. She defended herself saying she "didn't do anything different from what other western prominent women do". She was also accused of having said that the West "has a lot to learn from Islam", but denies that herself.

Notes

1962 births Living people Members of the Parliament of the French Community Members of the Senate (Belgium) Members of the Parliament of Wallonia Mouvement Réformateur politicians Presidents of the Senate (Belgium) 21st-century Belgian politicians 21st-century Belgian women politicians Belgian senators of the 56th legislature {{Wallonia-politician-stub