The state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) came up into the news this week, with an odd proposal making its way around the state legislature. The folks at Deutsche Welle picked up the basic story, and laid it out.
The state (not the national government) wants to ban young girls (age fourteen and under) from wearing headscarf (meaning burkas, etc).
Naturally, it's only in the discussion stage. The Islamic Council of Germany? They criticized the idea.
Teachers Association? They openly embrace the idea. They even made a blunt statement that it'd prevent religious bullying.
All of this leads back to a trend. Ten years ago....it was non-existent. If you go into schools around Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, etc.....today, you will notice a number of young ladies wearing some head covering. I would take a guess that it's still one-percent of female crowd in this age group....but it's the growth thing that has surprised German teachers.
Odds of passing? Unknown. If it is passed, then it'll be challenged in court, and the judges might side with the religious argument. However, there's this odd thing about German trends and schools. If the trend continues and no law takes effect....eventually some kid (a male) will come in and wear a headscarf, to make a political statement. Then you'll see a dozen guys doing this and making a statement. All of this will lead onto chaos and frustration.
My guess is that it'll pass, and be picked up by several other states over the next year or two. But it has a high potential to be thrown out by the court system.
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