Dozens of women in Greenland have heard Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, formally apologise for a scandal that involved thousands of Inuit women being forcibly given contraceptive coils, as part of a controversial birth control programme during the 1960s and 70s.

Dear women. Dear families. Dear Greenland. Today there is only one right thing to say to you. Sorry, Frederiksen told a packed venue in the centre of the capital Nuuk.

During an emotionally charged event, one women stood with her back to the prime minster in protest, a black handprint painted across her mouth.

Sorry for the injustice that was committed against you, Frederiksen said. Because you were Greenlanders. Sorry for what was taken from you. And for the pain it caused, she continued. On behalf of Denmark. Sorry.

Naja Lyberth, who was one of the first of the Inuit Greenlanders to speak out about what happened, received a standing ovation as she addressed Wednesday's event.

If we are to move forward, the apology is crucial, she said.

An official inquiry earlier this month concluded that at least 4,000 women had a coil implanted by 1970, corresponding to roughly half the Greenlandic females of childbearing age.

In more than 300 cases examined by the inquiry, women and girls as young as 12 had been fitted with an IUD without their knowledge or consent.

Welcoming Frederiksen's apology and the investigation, Naja Lyberth was also critical that it had not explored possible human rights violations.

Frederiksen acknowledged that many women had lived with trauma and physical complications, and that some were not able to have children.

Elisa Christensen, who listened to the leader's words carefully, found her apology very overwhelming but noted the lack of mention of compensation.

Frederiksen’s statement outlined plans to establish a reconciliation fund, though many details remain unclear.

Greenland's tragic history under Danish governance includes several controversies, with calls for deeper examination of past injustices.

Frederiksen's apology serves as a reminder of the complexities in Danish-Greenlandic relations amidst ongoing scrutiny of colonial legacies.