14 March 2015

German court rules teachers can wear headscarves

GERMANY’S highest court yesterday struck down a state law banning teachers from wearing headscarves as unconstitutional, saying it violates the right to religious freedom.

The Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling came in the case of two female Muslim teachers from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, but will also apply to the several other German states that have headscarf bans.

It came after more than 12 years of legal battles, and the issue already made it to the high court in Karlsruhe in 2003, when judges ruled that headscarves were allowed unless banned by specific laws. [The Scotsman] Read more