Austria's Freedom Party (FPÖ) is calling for a ban on burqas, after the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) backed France's rules on religious headgear on Tuesday, when it ruled the country's law banning full-face veils in public was legal.
Freedom Party spokeswoman Carmen Gartelgruber said that in the "wide, conservative circles of Islamic immigration society", the opinion prevails that women are second-class citizens. One of the many instruments for oppressing women is the burqa, she added.
A motion will be introduced to Austria's parliament next week to ban the public wearing of the garment, based on the latest ruling. A similar move is being proposed in Denmark, by the right-wing Danish People's Party. [The Local] Read more
