ABSTRACT
The headscarf debate is a particularly interesting example of multidimensional equality law. The ‘little piece of cloth’ divides not only German society as a whole but also the feminist movement. Gender equality and freedom of religion seem to require different answers. Quite a few influential feminists, such as the German feminist icon Alice Schwarzer, argue that gender equality requires banning headscarves.1 In her view, headscarves are a symbol of gender oppression. Women covering their heads are viewed as endangering the progress (insufficient as it is) achieved by the women’s movement. On the other hand, religious freedom seems to require the liberty to live according to one’s faith, including the right to dress according to one’s religion. Both freedom of religion and gender equality are guaranteed in the German Constitution (Arts 3 and 4).2 This is typical for modern constitutions3 and human rights treaties: both rights are guaranteed, for example, in the constitutions of Italy (Arts 3 and 8), the Netherlands (Arts 1 and 6), Spain (Arts 14 and 16), Greece (Arts 13 and 116, para 2), Poland (Arts 33 and 55) and Portugal (Arts 9 lit. h and 41) as well as international treaties such as the European Convention on Human Rights (Arts 9 and 14), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (see in particular Arts 3 and 18) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Arts 10 and 23). The headscarf issue will be used in this chapter as a prism through which to examine whether a tension really does exist between these two fundamental rights.
