The headscarf ban in Austria is a blatant attack on Muslims

         

                 Austria banned the headscarf in primary schools but not religious headwear for boys such as the turban for Sikhs and Jewish headwear. That’s right, only the female Muslim students and frankly, any female student cannot wear any religious clothing, but boys sure can. There is nothing more amusing and infuriating than a law that claims to protect girls, that is blatantly sexist and Islamophobic. Don’t get me wrong I would be insulted if the law attacked Sikh and Jewish boys as well. I wonder, can Muslim boys wear their religious caps as well? The law refers to any “ideologically or religiously influenced clothing which is associated with the covering of the head”. Yet, the Centre-right People’s party and the far-right Freedom party have made clear that the law targets Muslim headscarves. Wendelin Mölzer, the far-right Freedom party education spokesman, said the text was  “a signal against political Islam” while the ÖVP MP Rudolf Taschner said the law was necessary to free girls from oppression.

         So, yes, banning girls religious clothing but not boys makes total sense when it comes to feminism. Women love nothing less to be free from the perils of modesty and/or whatever to be told yet again what we can and cannot wear. There is nothing freer than having a law that prevents me from practicing my religion and or cultural heritage the way I choose. Feminism is about the equality of the sexes and the right for women to choose, this means that if a woman chooses to wear a miniskirt than she should be allowed to. I am pro-hijab because I wear one, yet I am also pro-no-hijab for women who are forced to wear it in Taliban country or in Saudi Arabia. Westerners often forget that Men are murdered in the Taliban country if their beards aren’t the right length, and Saudi Arabia also enforces a dress code on the men. However, women do get attacked more often for not “following” along. Islamic places like Turkey and Egypt have banned hijabs and niqabs.

         Austria’s official Muslim community organization has condemned the proposals and considers it a “direct assault on the religious freedom of Austrian Muslims”. They will try to repeal the law at the Austria constitutional court. The government told the media that it does expect challenges to the bill since other legislation affecting schools is normally passed with a two-thirds majority.  Friss of the liberal Neos party said that the ban makes girls and women responsible for repressive authoritarian regimes in places like Saudi Arabia or Iran. Griess continued to state that there is no evidence the girls were unable to learn with the scarf on. I can agree, I managed to get my physics degree with a scarf on my head and what to my surprise a piece of clothing didn’t interfere with my brain. I also can be first to admit; I drank a cocktail with a hijab on (before I converted and long story) and I have flirted with it on. I even kissed my husband and moved into his apartment before marriage all with a hijab on! Wow! Seems like it’s not the scarf.

          Austrian-German novelist Daniel Kehlmann condemned Kurz’s leadership (of the country) stating, “I want to ask our silent chancellor very matter-of-factly whether he is fully aware that history books of the future will remember him as the man who enabled a party of rightwing extremists to damage the outer image and inner fabric of this country to such an extent that it will soon no longer be repairable.” Kurz oversaw an Austrian ban on full-face coverings in 2017 called “integration” policy that aimed at limiting the visibility of orthodox Islam in public life. Police criticized the ban because it mainly resulted in warnings against smog masks, skiing gear, and animal costumes (sorry furrys). Why were police not running into a ton of Muslims women wear a face veil? Well because women who actually do face veil are a minority group in Muslim societies in the West and as well as Islamic Majority areas. Face veiled women, even when there are no laws against it, often have trouble finding jobs due to discrimination. Women in places like Saudi Arabia and even Iran, who wear “orthodox” Muslim clothing also struggle to find jobs. Yet there are no statistics assessing how many Muslim women actually wear the hijab in public places or at work/school in Austria. Majority of Muslim in the West do not even wear a veil of any kind outside of the mosque, some women adopt the practice well later in life and some women choose to discard the veil.

          The problem with this law is that it attacks a minority group. It also attacks a problem that wasn’t really a problem, to begin with. Yes, I said it, like the face-veiled women, girls wearing head scarfs in primary school are not that common. As the Islamic requirements for a hijab is puberty, and most parents who do want their children to wear some kind of headscarf tend to enforce it later in life. That does not mean some parents in the “orthodox” areas don’t enforce it. Yet we could counter that the Turban worn by Sikh boys is oppressive since little boys have absolutely no say in whether or not they can wear it. Some girls in the Sikh faith also wear turbans, would they be allowed to wear the turban, or is that just too close to the Muslim line. The lawmakers were very clear with this ban and the face veil ban, that these laws target Muslims. These laws help create more terrorist groups because it gives these groups a reason to attack. When we feel attacked as a community, humans will counterattack. Whether or not these extreme Islamic cults attack in Europe or not, they will attack minority groups like the Copts in Egypt or Yazidis because of these laws. Basing obvious bigotry laws against a religious group is wrong in all countries and under all circumstances. Unless of course the group like sacrifices babies or something dangerous like a mass suicide, and etc. No group should be afraid to practice their beliefs and be forced to convert to another religion and culture. Yet I suppose, Europe never got over its very Christian roots of inquisition, religious persecution, and the holocaust I suppose there is nothing more European than persecuting someone’s religions and making it all about you. Just like there is nothing more American than racial discrimination.


sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/16/austria-approves-headscarf-ban-in-primary-schools
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/austria-headscarf-ban-muslim-women-veils-law-school-a8916231.html
picture credit  taken from Inc.com and edited based on my own artistic needs, take this image if you want.