The ban stipulates that failure to observe the law will result in parent’s two-week imprisonment or a €400 fine.
Rabat – The Austrian government approved, Wednesday, May 15, a law against “ideologically and religiously” influenced outfit, which the ruling right-wing People’s party (OVP) and the Freedom party (FPO) has proposed.
The law against hijab, a headscarf worn by female Muslims, excludes the parka, a head covering worn by Sikhs, and the kippah, a Jewish skullcap.
The reason why the Jewish kippah and Sikh’s parka are allowed is because the two religious symbols do not fit the definition put in the bill, which refers to “garments that cover all the hair of the head or much of it.”
Although the bill suggests that the ban on hijab, which remains valid until the age of ten, will serve “social integration in harmony with the Austrian local customs, preservation of basic values under the constitution, and equality between men and women,” it appears to have hidden motivations.
Read also: Moroccan Teenager Stabbed to Death in Dublin While on His Way to Mosque
Responding to the motives behind the adoption of the law, targeting the hijab of all other religious symbols, FPO’s Education Spokesman Wendelin Molzer noted point-blank that the law is motivated by a desire to fight political Islam, and aims at emancipating children from “subjugation.”
Failing to comply with the ban, parents will risk paying a fine of € 440 ($491) or serve a substitute imprisonment of two weeks, the law states.
Islamic Religious Community in Austria reject the law, which still has to pass before the Austrian Federal Council, as “shameful” and as a “diversion tactic” intended to land a blow to the religious freedom of Austrian Muslims.
It further added in a statement that the ban will only lead to segregation and discrimination against Muslim girls. The community said it will take legal action against the ban before the Constitutional Court.
