Austria bans headscarves in primary schools

Sun, 26 May 2019

Austria bans headscarves in primary schools

PanArmenian.Net
16 May 2019, 18:07 GMT+10

PanARMENIAN.Net - Austrian MPs on Wednesday, May 15 approved a law aimed at banning the headscarf in primary schools, a measure proposed by the ruling right-wing government, The Guardian reports.

The text refers to any "ideologically or religiously influenced clothing which is associated with the covering of the head".

Representatives of both parts of the governing coalition, the centre-right People's Party (OeVP) and the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), have made it clear that despite its wide description, the law is targeted at the Islamic headscarf.

The FPOe education spokesman, Wendelin Moelzer, said the law was "a signal against political Islam" while OeVP MP Rudolf Taschner said the measure was necessary to free girls from "subjugation".

The government said the patka head covering worn by Sikh boys and the Jewish kippa would not be affected.

Austria's official Muslim community organisation IGGOe has previously condemned the proposals as "shameless" and a "diversionary tactic". It says that in any case only a "minuscule number" of girls would be affected.

An Austrian ban on full-face coverings introduced in 2017 as part of an "integration" policy aimed at limiting the visibility of orthodox Islam in public life was criticised by police after it emerged that the law mainly resulted in the issuing of warnings against people wearing smog masks, skiing gear and animal costumes.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Belgium Sun.

More Information

Europe

Theresa May's Resignation Raises Chances of British General Election

LONDON - The resignation announcement Friday by the country's Conservative prime minister Theresa May has increased the likelihood of Britain ...

Paris Saint-Germain coach Tuchel extends deal to 2021

Paris - Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel has extended his deal with the French Ligue 1 champions through to June ...

PM Modi greeted by British, German counterparts on electoral win

New Delhi [India], May 25 (ANI): Amidst high-octane developments on her home-front, UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday called ...

Russians' Trust In Putin Sinks To New Low

Public trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin has fallen to its lowest level in 13 years, according to a Russian ...

Iran Condemns France for Extradition of Iranian Engineer to US

Iran has denounced as brutal and illegal a French court's verdict to extradite an Iranian engineer to the US.The condemnation ...

2 more climbers dead as Everest toll rises

Kathmandu - The deaths of an Irish and a British climber on Mount Everest took the toll from a deadly ...

International

Iranians bearing brunt of U.S. sanctions

Many are worried about the risk of war with Iran after the Trump administration leaked discussions of a troop deployment ...

Women dominate same-sex marriages in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Same-sex couples lined up on Friday in Taiwan to register their partnerships after the passage last week ...

U.S. president storms out of meeting in a rage

WASHINGTON DC - U.S. President Donald Trump totally lost it on Wednesday.In a lengthy statement he derided Democrats, kept repeating ...

Bomb scare in Derry/Londonderry set a trap for police

DERRY/LONDONDERRY, Northern Ireland - Ugly scenes took place in the Moss Park area of Derry/Londonderry on Thursday night when police ...

Assange hit with new charges, could see him jailed for 175 years

WASHINGTON DC - A federal grand jury has returned an 18-count superseding indictment against Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, ...

Fears Ebola epidemic could spread beyod DRC

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Central Africa) - With the Democratic Republic of the Congo's worst ever Ebola outbreak ...

Movie Review

Chappaquiddick