A law in Austria prohibiting women from having their faces fully covered in public came into force on October 1. However, it was called neither a ‘burkha ban’ nor a ‘niqab ban’ as the politicians behind it feared possible discrimination lawsuits. Anyone, not just Muslims, refusing to reveal his/her face now faces a fine of €150.
Police officials responsible for enforcing the law pointed out that they were not interested in conflicts and wanted to solve problems by talking to people. Nevertheless, the law has ended up creating some unintended problems.
The first section of people to fall afoul of the law were not Muslim women but clowns and mascot performers. In some cases, cyclists have been stopped by the police. In one case, a woman was called on to take off the shawl she had on her face. “It’s cold,” she said. “It isn’t. Take it off,” the policeman answered. Last week, an official from a PR agency was fined $175 for wearing a shark costume for promotional purposes.
Examples like this make clear the quirky situation some European countries have landed themselves in by enacting laws which they claim defend ‘European values’. France, Belgium and the Netherlands already have similar laws in force nationwide while Italy and Spain have bans in some of their regions.
The burkha, a garment worn by women in Afghanistan and some areas of Pakistan, is not a common feature among Muslim women in Austria or other European countries. “I haven’t ever seen a single Muslim woman running around with such clothes,” Omar, 31, who lives in Vienna, told this writer.
Tourism revenue declines
However, the niqab, used by women in Arab countries, is worn by some here which includes wealthy travellers from those nations. Naturally, the law has turned away tourists from such countries. “This year, the sales definitely decreased. Many tourists from countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have heard of the new law and now prefer to not visit Austria any more,” says Davut Demirci, whose family owns a catering trade in the small town of Zell am See, which had become a hotspot for tourists from the Gulf in the last few years. In travel guides targeting tourists, the mountains and crystal-clear lakes in the town have been compared to the gardens of paradise described in the Holy Koran.
Statements to the contrary notwithstanding, some Austrian Muslims do believe that the law is Islamophobic in intent. “Why do we even have to talk about that? A majority of Austrian Muslims does not wear such clothes. Personally, I haven’t ever seen anyone wearing such a thing, apart some tourists from Gulf countries,” said Hatice, a 24-year-old student from Salzburg. “I believe it’s much easier for politicians to talk about Muslims and target them somehow instead of talking about more important issues.”
The debate on such a ban was championed by the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party, which could gain as much as 25% of the vote share in the legislative elections taking place on Sunday. The more mainstream parties, the Conservative Party and the Social Democrats, have also taken a right turn while ensuring that such a law comes into force.
Further, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen had in March expressed support for women’s right to wear a headscarf and even suggested that “... there will come a day where we must ask all women to wear a headscarf — all — out of solidarity to those who do it for religious reasons”. However, in the end, he still signed the law. He said that while he did not welcome such a prohibition, it did not violate the Austrian Constitution either.
(Emran Feroz is a freelance journalist based in Stuttgart. He was recently in Innsbruck, Austria)