Berlin Justice Senator seeks to abolish blanket headscarf ban

BERLIN (AA) – Berlin Justice Senator Lena Kreck of the Left Party wants to change the so-called neutrality law, which blanketly bans female teachers from wearing headscarves, as soon as possible.

“The fact that criticism of the constitutionality of Berlin’s neutrality law is justified has now also been confirmed by the Federal Constitutional Court,” Kreck told the Dpa news agency on Thursday.

“This means that Berlin’s neutrality law must be addressed immediately,” Kreck said.

She added that the headscarf ban excludes people and reinforces racist associations.

The justice senator was reacting to a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court which on Wednesday rejected the appeal of the state of Berlin against the decision of the Federal Labor Court regarding the headscarf ban, and decided that the wearing of the headscarf should not be banned in general.

Burhan Kesici, president of the Islamic Council of Germany, told Anadolu that the verdict was pleasing.

He said the city of Berlin’s neutrality law, which has prohibited civil servants and public employees, such as teachers, from wearing religious dress and symbols, is unconstitutional.

“We used to say that the inability of teachers with headscarves to work is against human rights. We hope now that the state will regulate the law and allow teachers.”