Burka Ban in Germany Violates Women’s Self-Determination Rights

The introduction of a nationwide full-body veil ban in Germany would breach the rights of women to self-determination, President of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany Aiman Mazyek told Sputnik Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On December 6, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for the ban on burka, which is a non-obligatory Muslim women garment, which covers body and face to prevent men from looking at a woman. Burkas were banned in several European countries including France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

"The Central Council of Muslims in Germany doesn´t advocate this garment [burka] due to societal reasons and sees it as an inappropriate signal in these times. A ban still interferes especially in the self-determination right of the women," Mazyek said.

The announced ban on wearing the full-body veil "solves no integration problems" in the German society, Mazyek added.

The president of the Central Council of Muslims stressed that the announced ban, which will affect "less than 100 people in Germany," who do wear burka or niqab diverts the attention away from a different kind of discrimination in Germany.

"The discrimination against the integrated Muslims with headscarf is overlooked," Mazyek warned.

The Central Council of Muslims in Germany is an Islamic federation with mainly German, German Arab and German Turkish Muslim members.