Troublesome Issues: Current Debates on Tensions between Gender Equality and Cultural Diversity in Austria

Holzleithner, Elisabeth; Strasser, Sabine (2006). Troublesome Issues: Current Debates on Tensions between Gender Equality and Cultural Diversity in Austria (New orientations for democracy in europe). Österreichisches Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung

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This paper will first deal with the legal and social situation of Islam and Muslims in Austria and then turn to particular “troublesome issues” at the intersection of gender equality and ethnic/religious diversity. The public debate on Muslims particularly focuses on the notion “not willing to integrate” and in the assumption of “parallel societies”. Hierarchical gender relations and “harmful traditions” such as veiling, female genital cutting, forced marriage and honour based violence recently became the centre of attention. We will show that the Austrian debate on these issues is shaped by the idea of “dangerous cultural difference” as something coming from outside and being concentrated in segregated Muslim enclaves. Despite the public authorities’ rejection of the idea that Islam was responsible for “harmful traditions”, legal as well as political measures in Austria not only combat violence against women but also fuel “cultural anxieties” between different ethnic and religious groups.

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