Austrian MPs on Wednesday accepted a regulation geared toward banning the scarf in number one colleges, a measure proposed by using the ruling right-wing authorities.
The text refers to any “ideologically or religiously prompted garb that is related to the protecting of the top”.
Representatives of both components of the governing coalition, the centre-right human beings’s birthday celebration (OeVP) and the a ways-proper Freedom party (FPOe), have made it clean that notwithstanding its wide description, the regulation is focused at the Islamic headscarf.
The FPOe education spokesman, Wendelin Moelzer, said the law turned into “a signal in opposition to political Islam” at the same time as OeVP MP Rudolf Taschner said the measure became essential to unfastened women from “subjugation”.
The government stated the patka head protecting worn by means of Sikh boys and the Jewish kippa could now not be affected.
Austria’s official Muslim network business enterprise IGGOe has formerly condemned the proposals as “shameless” and a “diversionary tactic”. It says that in any case simplest a “minuscule range” of women could be affected.
Competition MPs nearly all voted towards the degree, with a few accusing the authorities of specializing in garnering nice headlines as opposed to baby welfare.
The government admits that the law is in all likelihood to be challenged at Austria’s constitutional court docket, both on grounds of religious discrimination or because similar legislation affecting colleges is commonly surpassed with a -thirds majority of MPs.
The OeVP and FPOe formed a coalition in late 2017 after elections in which each events took a hard anti-immigration stance and warned of the dangers of so-called “parallel societies”.
An Austrian ban on complete-face coverings introduced in 2017 as part of an “integration” coverage aimed toward proscribing the visibility of orthodox Islam in public existence become criticised by using police after it emerged that the law especially resulted in the issuing of warnings in opposition to human beings carrying smog masks, skiing equipment and animal costumes.
Denmark enacted a ban on the carrying of face veils in public in 2018, joining France and different ecu nations.