VIENNA: Austrian lawmakers on Thursday voted by a large majority in favor of a law banning headscarves in schools for girls under 14, a move rights groups and experts say is discriminatory and could deepen societal division.
Austria’s conservative-led government — under pressure with anti-immigration sentiment is running high — proposed the ban earlier this year, arguing it is aimed at protecting girls “from oppression.”
In 2019 the country introduced a ban on headscarves in primary schools, but the constitutional court struck it down.
This time the government insists that its law is constitutional, though experts have suggested it could be seen as discriminating against one religion — Islam — and putting children in an uncomfortable position.
The law prevents girls younger than 14 from wearing headscarves that “cover the head in accordance with Islamic traditions” in all schools.
After a debate Thursday, only the opposition Green party voted against the ban.
Ahead of the vote, lawmaker Yannick Shetty of the liberal NEOS said the headscarf “is not just an item of clothing” but “sexualizes girls.”
“When a girl... is told that she must hide her body... to protect herself from the gaze of men, it’s not a religious ritual, but oppression,” Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm said when presenting the bill.
The ban, which applies to “all forms” of the Islamic veil including hijabs and burqas, would take full effect with the start of the new school year in September, Plakolm said.
From February, an initial period would be launched during which the new rules would be explained to educators, parents and children with no penalties for breaking them.
But for repeated non-compliance, parents would face fines ranging from €150 to €800 ($175-930).
The government said that about 12,000 girls would be affected by the new law.
‘Stigmatized’
Rights groups and activists have long argued that banning headscarves still amounts to telling a woman what to wear, instead of allowing her the freedom to decide on her own.
Organizations including Amnesty International Austria have criticized the bill.
Amnesty said it “constitutes blatant discrimination against Muslim girls” and described it as an “expression of anti-Muslim racism.”
Such measures risk “fueling existing prejudices and stereotypes against Muslims,” the group warned.
The draft law has also drawn criticism from the IGGOe, the body officially recognized as representing the country’s Muslim communities.
It said the ban “jeopardizes social cohesion,” saying “instead of empowering children, they are stigmatized and marginalized.”
Angelika Atzinger, managing director of the Amazone women’s rights association, said a headscarf ban “sends girls the message that decisions are being made about their bodies and that this is legitimate.”
Her comments appeared in a statement published by the anti-racism group SOS Mitmensch, which also opposes the proposed law.
Austria’s anti-immigration, far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) said the ban did not go far enough, however. They want it extended to all students, teachers and other staff.
In France, authorities banned school children in 2004 from wearing signs of religious affiliation such as headscarves, turbans or Jewish skullcaps, on the basis of the country’s secular laws, which are meant to guarantee neutrality in state institutions.
Austrian parliament approves headscarf ban in schools
https://arab.news/rhy76
Austrian parliament approves headscarf ban in schools
- In 2019 the country introduced a ban on headscarves in primary schools, but the constitutional court struck it down
- Rights groups and activists have long argued that banning headscarves still amounts to telling a woman what to wear
Afghanistan launches retaliatory attacks on Pakistan as tensions escalate
- At least 66 Afghans have been killed by Pakistan’s strikes, Afghan authorities say
- Afghanistan has called for dialogue while Pakistan ruled out any talks with Kabul
KABUL: Afghanistan has launched new attacks on Pakistan’s military bases, the Afghan defense ministry said on Saturday, as cross-border clashes escalated between the neighbors after months of tension.
The latest flare-up erupted after Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghan territory last weekend triggered a retaliatory offensive from Afghanistan along the border on Thursday.
The two countries have engaged in tit-for-tat attacks since, marking the most serious development in ongoing tensions between the two countries, which agreed to a ceasefire last October following a week of deadly clashes.
Afghanistan’s Air Force has “once again launched airstrikes on Pakistani military bases” in Miranshah and Spinwam, the Afghan Ministry of National Defense said on X on Saturday, claiming that the strikes caused “severe damage and heavy casualties.”
“These successful operations were conducted in response to repeated aerial aggressions by the Pakistani military regime,” the ministry said.
Afghan forces also launched similar strikes against military targets in Islamabad and Abbottabad on Friday, which the ministry said was in retaliation of aerial attacks by Pakistani forces in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia.
At least 66 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Pakistani strikes, with another 59 others wounded, according to Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Afghan government.
Pakistan has maintained that it is targeting only military targets to avoid any civilian casualties, in compliance with international law.
Pakistani officials said its forces have killed more than 330 Afghan fighters and targeted 37 military locations across Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesperson for the Afghan government, earlier called for talks to resolve the crisis.
“We have always emphasized peaceful resolution, and now too we want the issue to be resolved through dialogue,” he said on Friday.
However, Pakistan has ruled out any talks with Kabul.
“There won’t be any talks, there is nothing to talk about. There’s no negotiation. Terrorism from Afghanistan has to end,” Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s prime minister, said on Friday.
Pakistan is accusing the Afghan Taliban of sheltering fighters from the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and allowing them to stage cross-border attacks — a charge Afghanistan denies, saying it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.
As international calls for mediation grow amid the escalating hostility, Afghans across the country are growing fearful of the violence.
“Everyone heard the jets. This is the first time since the withdrawal of US invaders that we have heard such a horrible noise and news of damage. It is not good for us,” said Kandahar resident Shahid Zamari.
“We had forgotten the US war and its bad impact on us, on our families, on our children. And now this has come upon us again — by Pakistan, and in the holy month of Ramadan.”
When the strikes hit Kabul at around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, Saleema Wardak moved quickly to wake up her six children and escape outside, assuming the strong jolt that shook her house was an earthquake.
“While standing in the yard, my husband told me it was not an earthquake but an explosion. Then we heard the crazy sounds of planes, and shooting from the mountains against the planes,” she told Arab News.
“We hid inside, worried another bomb would fall on us. People say Pakistan is targeting civilians on purpose to increase pressure on the Taliban. So we hid … The world is unjust … They do not value the blood of the poor.”
For Sabawoon, a 23-year-old student from eastern Kunar province’s Asadabad city, the coming days are filled with uncertainties.
“What to do? Where to go? We have to stay and find our way to survive,” he told Arab News. “God willing, nothing bad will happen to us. If they are bombing us, what can we do?”
