Veil-Wearing Muslims Leave Austria as the Niqab Ban Kicks In

Austria’s new ban on facial coverings in public has prompted veil-wearing Muslims and their families to leave the country, reports a new documentary.

Police have so far refused to give details on the law’s effect on their work, but a spokesman told news show Vienna Today that there have been around 100 violations of the ban since it came into force on October 1st.

Two thirds of these were said to concern the Islamic face veil, while the remaining third concerned people using masks or scarves to hide their face  — an act which now carries a penalty of €150 since the ban came into place.

Elif Öztürk, from ‘Documenting Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism’, told the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) news programme that the ban makes devout Muslims feel their identity is under attack from the state, “even when they are Austrian citizens”.

According to the NGO worker, niqab-wearing Muslims are suffering under the new law — which carries a €150 fine — and have begun to emigrate, isolate themselves from society and even lose weight, as the most common responses to the popular measure.

She said that Muslim women affected by the ban have tended to react in three ways, one of which involved women making the “very emotional decision” to ditch the controversial garment, which has been banned by a number of nations as a counter-terror measure.