I am not allowed to be connected with my daughter as I should
In the long shadow of colonial history, a Greenlandic mother named Keira Kronvold has been separated from her infant daughter since birth — the consequence of a psychometric parenting test that Denmark itself has since abolished as culturally biased. The United Nations has now entered the story, warning that such removals may constitute ethnic discrimination against Indigenous women whose ways of knowing and nurturing were never written into the test's design. As a high court hearing approaches and Denmark forms a new government, the fate of dozens of Inuit families rests in the uncertain space between legal precedent and political will.
- A Greenlandic mother has spent eighteen months watching her daughter call someone else Mum — the direct result of a parenting test Denmark has since admitted was unfit for purpose.
- The UN has formally warned Denmark that removing Kronvold's newborn hours after birth, without her consent and using a culturally biased tool, may constitute ethnic discrimination under international law.
- Dozens of other Inuit women remain separated from their children by the same abolished tests, yet no mechanism has been triggered to review or reverse those decisions.
- Kronvold's high court appearance on Friday carries the weight of potential precedent — a ruling in her favor could open the door for all similarly affected families to seek redress.
- Denmark's caretaker government, still forming after a March election, has acknowledged the UN letter but cannot yet respond, leaving justice suspended between a courtroom and an empty ministerial chair.
Keira Alexandra Kronvold's daughter Zammi was two hours old when Danish authorities placed her in foster care. The reason: Kronvold had failed an FKU psychometric test designed to assess parental competence — a test she was told would determine whether she was "civilised enough" to raise a child. Eighteen months on, she sees Zammi only in short, supervised visits. The child calls her foster parents Mum and Dad.
Denmark banned the FKU tests in May 2024, acknowledging years of criticism that they were culturally unsuitable for Greenlandic people and other minorities. But the ban did not reverse the separations it had caused. Kronvold is one of dozens of Inuit women living in Denmark who remain apart from their children as a result of these assessments.
The United Nations has now intervened. In a letter sent last month, UN Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem — joined by colleagues overseeing Indigenous rights and contemporary racism — warned Denmark that its treatment of Kronvold and other Greenlandic families "may amount to ethnic discrimination." The officials described the removal of Kronvold's newborn as "discriminatory and disproportionate," and noted that Indigenous women frequently face compounding human rights violations in contexts involving childbirth and family separation — disruptions that damage not only individual lives but entire cultural communities.
The historical backdrop matters. Denmark governed Greenland as a colony until 1953, and Greenlandic people living in Denmark today continue to report systemic discrimination. The FKU tests became a symbol of that disparity — a measure of parenting calibrated to Danish norms that left no room for different cultural approaches to child-rearing.
For Kronvold, the toll has been profound. "I am not allowed to be connected with my daughter as I should as a mother," she said. Her lawyer, Jeanette Gjørret, sees Friday's high court hearing as potentially transformative — a ruling in Kronvold's favor could set precedent for the many other Greenlandic parents in the same position.
Denmark's social affairs ministry confirmed receipt of the UN letter but said it could not respond while a new government is still being formed following March's general election. The question of justice for Kronvold and dozens of other separated families now waits at the intersection of a court's judgment and a government not yet ready to act.
Keira Alexandra Kronvold's daughter was two hours old when Danish authorities took her away. It was November 2024. The newborn, Zammi, was placed in foster care because her mother had failed a test—a psychometric assessment called FKU, designed to measure parental competence. Kronvold was told the test would determine whether she was "civilised enough" to raise a child. Now, eighteen months later, she sees her daughter only under supervision, in short, controlled visits. The child calls her foster parents Mum and Dad.
The FKU tests have since been banned in Denmark, scrapped last May after years of criticism from campaigners who argued they were culturally unsuitable for Greenlandic people and other minorities. But the ban came too late for Kronvold and dozens of other Inuit women living in Denmark who remain separated from their children as a result of these assessments. On Friday, Kronvold will appear before the Danish high court in what may be her best chance yet to regain custody.
The case has now drawn the attention of the United Nations. In a letter sent late last month, Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, along with colleagues overseeing Indigenous rights and contemporary racism, warned the Danish government that its treatment of Kronvold and other Greenlandic families "may amount to ethnic discrimination." The officials expressed particular concern about the "disproportionate impact" of the FKU tests on Greenlandic parents and noted that violations of human rights appear to have occurred. They called the removal of Kronvold's child without her consent "discriminatory and disproportionate," citing what they described as years of apparent disrespect toward her reproductive autonomy.
Denmark's relationship with Greenland carries historical weight. The country ruled Greenland as a colony until 1953. Though Greenland now has largely autonomous status, people of Greenlandic origin living in Denmark report experiencing systemic discrimination. The FKU tests became a stark symbol of this disparity—a tool that, in practice, seemed calibrated to a Danish standard of parenting that did not account for different cultural approaches to child-rearing.
Alsalem emphasized in her letter that Indigenous women and girls often face overlapping, reinforcing human rights violations, particularly in contexts involving sexual and reproductive health, childbirth, and family separation. These intersecting forms of discrimination, she wrote, disrupt spiritual and cultural life and damage the very fabric of family units and communities. She said she would monitor the outcome of Kronvold's court case and Denmark's response before deciding whether to take further action.
For Kronvold, the separation has been psychologically devastating. "I am not allowed to be connected with my daughter as I should as a mother," she said. The pain of watching her child bond with foster parents, of being excluded from the ordinary intimacy of motherhood, has been compounded by the knowledge that the test that separated them was itself flawed—so flawed that the government eventually abandoned it entirely.
Her lawyer, Jeanette Gjørret, a children's rights specialist, sees the high court case as potentially symbolic. If the court rules in Kronvold's favor, it could establish precedent for the many other Greenlandic parents in similar circumstances. "There are many parents who are in the same situation," Gjørret said. "We want the high court to look at the case and see: was it right or wrong?"
Denmark held a general election in March, and the country remains without a functioning government. When asked to respond to the UN inquiry, the Danish social affairs ministry confirmed receipt of the letter but said it could not respond while the government was being formed. The question of what happens to Kronvold and the dozens of other separated families now hangs in the space between a court ruling and a government that is not yet in place to act on it.
Citações Notáveis
I am not allowed to be connected with my daughter as I should as a mother. She has to make a connection to the foster parents and it hurt me so much that she called them Mum and Dad.— Keira Alexandra Kronvold
There are many parents who are in the same situation, so we want the high court to look at the case and see: was it right or wrong?— Jeanette Gjørret, Kronvold's lawyer
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
What made these FKU tests so problematic for Greenlandic parents specifically?
They were designed around a Danish standard of parenting—assumptions about how a "civilised" parent should behave, how they should speak, what they should value. For Greenlandic people, whose culture has different approaches to child-rearing and family structure, the tests were measuring them against a foreign standard. It wasn't that Greenlandic parents were incompetent. It was that the test couldn't see competence when it looked different.
And the government just... stopped using them?
After years of criticism, yes. But only after they'd already separated dozens of families. Kronvold's case became public and sparked outrage, and that's when the government moved. But by then the damage was done—children had already been placed in foster care, mothers had already been separated from newborns.
Why is the UN getting involved now, a year after the ban?
Because banning the tests going forward doesn't undo what happened to people like Kronvold. The UN is saying: you've acknowledged the tests were wrong, but what about the families already torn apart by them? They deserve justice and a way to be made whole again.
What does Kronvold actually want?
She wants her daughter back. She wants the law changed to protect Inuit people from this happening again. And she wants the tests erased—not just stopped, but removed from the record, acknowledged as a mistake that should never have existed.
Is there any chance she'll win on Friday?
The high court case is significant because it's the first real legal test of whether the removal was justified. If she wins, it could open the door for dozens of other cases. But Denmark doesn't have a government right now, so even if she wins, there's no clear authority to act on it immediately.