BERLIN, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Senior politicians of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) want to ban girls under the age of 14 from wearing headscarves in Germany, media reported on Monday.
German interior minister and CSU leader Horst Seehofer told press in Munich that he was "principally in favor" of a headscarf ban for under 14-year-olds.
Seehofer echoed demands by Armin Laschet (CDU), governor of North-Rhine Westphalia, and CDU vice-president Julia Kloeckner but also noted that it was too early to say whether such legislation could be passed successfully in Germany.
Kloeckner emphasized that headscarves for girls had no religious meaning despite being imposed by some Muslim parents on their offspring. The CDU vice-president argued that the government needed to prevent young generations from growing up with "crude gender stereotypes" by outlawing the practice.
Similarly, Laschet said that making young girls wear a headscarf was wrong because it took away their chance to "decide for themselves" what faith they wanted to adhere to and how they wished to express religious affiliation.
The proposals were supported by the Federation of Immigrants Associations (BAGIV) on Monday. 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.
