Racism & fascism - in brief (11)
01 August 2008
Germany: Headscarf forbidden, but nuns' habits a "special case"
In a judgment on a complaint by a 58-year-old Muslim teacher, the Superior Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg ruled that the claimant is not allowed to wear her headscarf on grounds of a law that came into force in 2004 that forbids religious symbols from being exhibited in schools. The judge thereby revoked an earlier decision by the Stuttgart administrative court that had allowed the woman to wear a headscarf because its ban violated the anti-discrimination principle, as three nuns at a state school were allowed to teach in their religious habits. In the second case, the judge declared that nuns were a "special case" and were excluded from the law, and therefore the Muslim woman was not discriminated against. The school at which the nuns were teaching had become a state school, so that there were certain contractual obligations to allow for an exception. The plaintiff points out that she has been wearing a headscarf for 30 years without any complaints by parents or pupils. Her lawyer is therefore asking for an individual case examination and exception. An appeal could be lodged with the Federal Administrative Court.
Süddeutsche Zeitung 17.3.08