Headscarf Ban: More Harm Than Good Feared

For Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP), the government is taking action against a "symbol of oppression" with the planned headscarf ban, and according to estimates, 12,000 female students could be affected. The experts consulted by SOS Mitmensch - including three Viennese compulsory school principals and four leaders of social work projects for girls and women - do not expect the measure to empower the girls; in their assessment, it could even be counterproductive.

Headscarf: Experts Advocate Support Instead of Bans

If girls were forced to wear headscarves, they would need support rather than bans - otherwise, the students would only become further isolated, warns Angelika Atzinger from the Bregenz association Amazone. Through the headscarf ban, they also experience that it is legitimate for others to decide about their bodies and appearance, and that while their headscarf is prohibited, other religious symbols are not.

Katharina Echsel from the Viennese Migrant Women's Education Association Peregrina also expects an increase in stigmas and stereotypes, because the headscarf ban constructs a dichotomy between backward Muslims trapped in patriarchal thought patterns and a "rest of Austria" totally committed to equality. Headscarf-wearing girls also have different motives, whether to please their mother or to follow fashion trends. Pride in their culture, protest, or standing out from others are also mentioned in the report.

"Withdrawal and Defiant Reactions" Feared in Schools

In schools, there is not only concern that the enforcement of the headscarf ban will leave even less time for pedagogy for the teaching staff and jeopardize the trust relationships built with girls over the years. Doris Pfingstner, principal of a middle school in Vienna, also anticipates "withdrawal and defiant reactions." School administrations would then have to explain to parents why their daughter is suddenly not allowed to wear a headscarf at school anymore. "I fear this creates more conflicts than solutions," says Pfingstner, who would prefer instead of a headscarf ban, that a contemporary, Western-liberal Islam be represented in the training of Islamic teaching staff. Currently, according to her experience, educators often teach a rather conservative and patriarchal version.

SOS Mitmensch calls on the responsible politicians in the report to take the assessment of the surveyed experts seriously, "to adopt the many already existing exemplary approaches and tools" that aim to promote the self-determination of girls and counteract patriarchal role understandings. In schools, this includes, for example, social learning weeks or class rules developed together with the children, conflict resolution as a subject, or methods that strengthen the children's self-esteem or practice not judging others. Other levers are female role models, for example from technology, or greater involvement of parents, for instance through a monthly parent café or multi-part seminars with mandatory attendance.

All-day School and Ethics Classes to Empower Girls

According to the experts, however, there are not enough resources in this area either in schools or outside. In addition to more support through school social work and psychology, interpreters, and school doctors, the experts also wish for additional multi-professional teams that can visit parents at home. For children and adolescents, there should also be more (including external) offerings to promote their self and social skills, with the topic of role expectations sometimes addressed separately for boys and girls.

According to the experts, girls from patriarchal families, in particular, would benefit from all-day schools because they can focus more on themselves and their educational path there. A joint ethics class, in turn, could improve mutual understanding and coexistence.

(APA/Red.)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.