Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has renewed its call for legislation banning girls under 14 from wearing Muslim headscarves in public schools.
The AfD parliamentary group argued that Germany should follow the example of neighboring Austria. A new regulation banning girls under 14 from wearing Islamic headscarves at school in Austria is expected to take effect next month.
AfD emphasizes “Western values”
AfD lawmaker Kerstin Przygodda described as “alarming” reports that some Muslim communities in Austria planned to defy the ban.
Przygodda said Germany also needed a similar regulation and that it would defend “Western values.” The AfD parliamentary group criticized Germany’s established parties over their migration policies and called for the Austrian model to be applied to children in public education institutions.
Proposal had sparked debate in parliament
The AfD’s attempt to raise a similar ban earlier this year sparked heated debate in parliament.
The proposal drew strong criticism from Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and the opposition Greens.
Critics argued that the AfD was using the headscarf issue to fuel negative sentiment toward Muslims and as a campaign tool ahead of state elections scheduled for September 6 in Saxony-Anhalt and September 20 in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
It was also stated that the AfD’s claims that girls in Germany’s Muslim communities are widely being forced to wear headscarves were not based on solid evidence. According to critics, most young girls who wear headscarves do so not under coercion but because of cultural practice, family tradition or personal choice.
