BERLIN. Women’s rights organization Terre des Femmes has called for a nationwide ban on headscarves in schools for girls up to the age of 14. “Terre des Femmes has long campaigned for a nationwide ban on the wearing of so-called children’s headscarves in public educational institutions,” the organization made clear and added: “The new regulation on the so-called children’s headscarf should include a ban on all religious and ideological symbols in schools.”
The background for the renewed question is a non-representative survey among 784 teachers, the Terre des Femmes had carried out. 71 percent of the teachers surveyed said they teach girls under the age of 14 who wear a headscarf at school. According to the survey, 31 percent of the teachers ‘always’ or ‘often’ had the impression that the girls did not wear their headscarves voluntarily.
Furthermore, 28 percent saw that girls wearing a headscarf ‘always’ or ‘often’ had integration problems. 49 percent supported the ban on headscarves for children up to 14 years old, as requested by Terre des Femmes. Furthermore, 56 percent of teachers wanted a school without religious symbols (headscarf, cross and skullcap) for both pupils and teachers.
Headscarf is a “symbol of demarcation”
The survey also includes several anonymous quotes from respondents. One teacher is quoted as saying: “The headscarf is usually worn as a symbol of demarcation. Often combined with other classic Muslim clothing. It is no longer just about a headscarf. Even more radical forms such as a chador are often seen from year 5 or 6 […]. Western-dressed girls are often considered ‘impure’ or ‘haram’. The term Kuffar is often heard… [Notiz: Kuffar kommt aus dem Arabischen und kann mit Ungläubige übersetzt werden]“
Another statement reads: “The proportion of Muslim pupils at our school is high (estimated at over 80 percent). My impression is that the pressure within the student population to openly display ‘Muslim values’ (such as headscarves, fasting, ‘appropriate’ clothing, not having boyfriends for girls, etc.) is enormous and that girls/young people are openly hostile, if they do not adhere to the ‘rules’. In addition to the expectations of the family and, to a certain extent, their control, girls and young people in schools like mine are not protected at school. Your demands [Anmerkung JUNGE FREIHEIT: Gemeint sind die Forderungen von Terre des Femmes] As far as I’m concerned, they are more than desirable!”