Campaign against female circumcision provokes controversy in Sweden

Stockholm, Apr 18 (ANI): Sweden's Culture Minister landed in controversy after she cut a cake which was designed like an African tribal woman.

The cake, which was cut at Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm, was meant to highlight the issue of female circumcision.

But, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, was called to step down after it was remarked as a 'crude racist attitude' by the officials of Association for African Swedes.

"To say that you did this for a good cause only makes the mockery of people who are victims of racism and of circumcision worse," The BBC quoted Kitimbwa Sabuni, spokesperson for the group.

The reports claimed that the artist behind the cake, Makode Linde, who is black but was born in Stockholm, stressed that the work had been misunderstood.

"Considering the poor offering of art in Sweden that could be defined as African-Swedish, one would have hoped that the people in the National Association for African Swedes were more aware of the artwork that I do," he said.

The cake was in the shape of the naked upper body of an African woman and was filled with a blood-red sponge. Mr Linde had actually painted his own face and took the place of the head.

"It was a bizarre situation. I was invited to speak at World Art Day about the freedom of art and the right to be provocative, and then they asked me to cut up the cake," the minister was quoted as saying, adding that she could 'understand that this can feel provocative.' (ANI)