CDU/CSU quarrel over proposed headscarf ban for girls in Germany

BERLIN, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Some Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) politicians have reacted cautiously on Tuesday to widely-publicized proposals by fellow party members to legally ban girls under the age of 14 from wearing headscarves in Germany.

"I can understand the motivation behind the proposals, but I think that the approach is incompatible with the constitutionally-enshrined rights of parents," Andrea Lindholz (CSU), president of the parliamentary committee on internal affairs, told press.

Similarly, the federal government's integration commissioner Annette Widmann-Mauz (CDU) warned that a headscarf ban would raise complicated constitutional questions whilst only resolving the symptoms of the deeper problems which it was actually intended to address.

A ban would not be enough to tackle "underlying issues" in the discrimination of girls and empower young females in Germany, Widmann-Mauz said in an interview with the newspaper Welt.

Proposals for a headscarf ban were first made prominent by Armin Laschet (CDU), governor of North-Rhine Westphalia, and CDU vice-president Julia Kloeckner. The newly-appointed German interior minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) subsequently endorsed these calls as a means to shield girls from outdated gender stereotypes.

The proposals have also received public support from the Federation of Immigrants Associations. A public debate over the need for a headscarf ban in Germany was sparked by a recent decision by the neighboring Austrian government to prohibit the wearing of headscarves in kindergarten and primary school institutions. Enditem