Friday, November 12, 2004

A bad law spreads to Bavaria

BBC: Hijab bans now in several German states. Not terribly excited about this from a secularism point of view (excessive restriction of the right to religious expression goes against my concept of secularism).

One interesting facet here is that the law passed in Bavaian Parliament on pressure from the Culture Minister, Monika Hohlmeier. To what extent have German women's rights groups been involved in the production of these bans in Germany? In France, women's rights were cited, but far and away, the legislators responsible for implementing the ban were men not particularly known for an investment in feminism.

It's also worth considering that Germany's federal Constitutional Court has ruled the Hijab legal nationally, but given states the right to ban it anyway. I wonder if that split will open the door to further legal challenges from the Muslim community?