Afghan girl rules ‘too vague and arbitrary’
Rules allowing Afghan girls to remain in the Netherlands if they are ‘too westernised’ were criticised by opposition MPs for being too arbitrary and vague during a debate on Wednesday night.
Immigration minister Gerd Leers ruled earlier this month girls aged 10 to 18 could not be sent back if they had lived in the Netherlands for at least eight years.
The decision followed the case of 15-year-old Sahar Hbrahimgel, who was threatened with deportation despite living here for 10 years.
But opposition MPs said they wanted to know why the rules did not apply to boys, homosexuals and Christians and to other countries.
Leers said the situation for boys in Afghanistan is ‘completely different’. He also said people who fear persecution in their country of origin because of sexual orientation or religion were always looked at on an individual basis.
Earlier stories
Afghan teenager wins the right to stay
Some 400 westernised girls must go back
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