Austria’s government announces its intention to bring in a ban on the headscarf for girls in kindergartens and elementary schools.
Education Minister Heinz Fassmann says the draft law would be ready by the summer. He added that it would be a “symbolic” act, regardless of how many children were actually affected.
Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) had floated the idea of a ban over the weekend, saying that girls “under the age of 10 must be protected” and be able to “integrate and develop freely.”
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the center-right People’s Party (OeVP) also backed the idea, telling the Oe1 radio station: “We want all girls in Austria to have the same opportunities,” and that he wanted to avoid the development of “parallel societies.”
The Kurier newspaper reports that neither the education ministry nor various experts asked by the paper were able to provide figures for how many girls currently wear the headscarf in kindergartens and primary schools.
— AFP
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