Debate that prompted sparks over the issue of wearing headscarves at schools has finally resolved. Lately, a highest court in southern Germany has overruled the ban against wearing headscarves in school. Now, the teachers can perform their duty without crossing their religious tenets.
Karl Huber, the judge said,
‘in the context of school supervision, the lawmaker can decide on rules regarding the extent to which teachers are banned from wearing external symbols and pieces of clothing that express a religious or ideological conviction while teaching.’
The heated debate was first ignited in 2003 when Germany’s federal Constitutional Court ruled that Muslims could wear their headscarves while teaching but at the same time encouraged new laws to ban religious symbols. Eight German states, including Berlin, have so far passed school laws that ban headscarves.
Women’s rights groups and conservative politicians asserted that many Muslim women have no choice but to wear a headscarf because their families demand it. However, 97% of women asked said it was the duty of a Muslim woman to cover her head and that they should be allowed to wear them wherever and whenever they choose.
