Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany announced the ban of burqas in public places on Tuesday, citing that ‘ full-face coverings do not belong in a free society ‘. This rule is to be applied to primary and secondary level schoolgirls. It is to be noted that this state had already banned the wearing of burqas for teachers.
The Daily Mail reported that State Premier Winfried Kretschmann said that it was rare for school girls to wear burqas but that a ban was required for the exceptional cases. Kretschmann added that such coverings, which are usually worn by conservative Muslim women and girls, do not belong in a free society, although he admitted that banning them at university level was a more complex matter.
The country’s left-wing Green party has been divided on the issue, but in Baden-Württemberg, Green party leaders were in agreement with the CDU, with state party leaders Sandra Detzer and Oliver Hildenbrand referring to the burqa and the niqab as ‘symbols of oppression.’ Other party members have argued that a ban could stoke tensions and negatively impact cultural integration.
In February, a German court overturned a school’s niqab ban after a 16-year-old girl was told she had to show her face to teachers. Hamburg education officials had ordered the girl’s mother to ensure that her daughter did not wear the veil at school, a decision which an administrative court overruled.
Source: The Daily Mail UK