Germany gears up for headscarf ban for children

Berlin: A state of Germany is planning to put a ban on children under the age of 14 years. Though the Islamic Council of Germany condemned the idea some teachers hailed the plan. The country’s most-populous state North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) proposed that the headscarf must be banned for girls under the age of 14. A bill is likely to be prepared in this connection.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s government plans to legally ban girls from wearing headscarves in school. The move has sparked controversy. While Germany’s anti-discrimination head said a ban could marginalize Muslim kids, Germany’s Teachers’ Association welcomed the proposal saying headscarf ban would help to undermine discrimination on religious grounds and anti-religious bullying.

NRW Integration Minister Joachim Stamp announced the initiative saying young children should not be made to cover their hair for religious reasons. The ‘Bild’ has quoted Susanne Lin-Klitzing, the head of the German Philological Association, as saying that in a democracy no sex should be subordinate to another. “A headscarf can be seen as a symbol of that, and so there’s no place for it in the classroom.”