The Austrian government wants to ban schoolgirls from wearing the veil

The Austrian government, formed by the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP, conservative) and the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ, nationalist), announced Wednesday the drafting of a new bill banning schoolgirls from wearing the Islamic veil, said EFE.

«Our objective is to fight against the creation of 'parallel societies' in Austria, which includes wearing the (Islamic) veil in nurseries and primary schools,» said Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to Ö1 radio station. «We want to make sure that all girls in Austria have the same opportunities ahead of them to grow», he added.

The debate on the veil ban was launched late last week by the vice-chancellor and president of the FPÖ, Heinz-Christian Strache. He stressed the need of «protecting» little girls. Most Muslim communities in Austria, however, agree that they are still too young to wear the veil.

For her part, Carla Amina Baghajati, spokesperson for the Muslim Community in Austria (IGGIÖ), considers this debate «counterproductive», as it indicated in the newspaper Der Standard. She said that the ban on wearing a veil in nurseries and primary schools «should not be debated».