Brussels mayor Yann Mayeur (PS) backed Civil State councillor Alain Courtois on Sunday. He agreed with his reasons for refusing to allow some weddings to go ahead.
This week, Alain Courtois confirmed he has refused to allow eight marriages to go ahead since taking office in December 2012. This was because the future bride refused to shake his hand for religious reasons. “I agree that politeness and respecting others is essential. But we have to respect our vivre-ensemble and that means men and women have to be equal”, Yann Mayeur said during an interview broadcast on the Une programme “A votre avis”.
Mr Mayeur says these cases highlight a more general problem. A Brussels civil servant was fired because they refused to shake a councillor’s hand because she was a woman. “We will not compromise on gender equality. We will not change our values. It’s not just a slogan. They are law”, he added.
(Source: Belga)
