Austria Continues Push Back against Islam- confirms ban elementary school girls from wearing headscarves
On May 16, Austria’s parliament approved a law banning headscarves in public primary schools. The legislation was supported by the MPs from the right-wing ruling coalition consisting of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s conservative People’s Party (OVP) and the right-wing Freedom Party (FPO), who retain a 60 percent majority in parliament.
The ruling coalition has framed the law as “a signal against political Islam” and an effort to “free girls from submission.”
While the ban does not explicitly mention headscarves, it prohibits “ideologically or religiously influenced clothing which is associated with the covering of the head.”
The law is widely popular. Other European countries like France, Belgium and the Netherlands have issued fines in the past for women wearing the burqa, which fully covers their bodies.
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