Austria's left-leaning president Alexander Van Der Bellen has suggested all women must one day wear headscarves to combat Islamophobia.
The green-backed independent triumphed over his populist right-wing rival Norbert Hofer in December after an unprecedented repeat vote.
His comments come after the Austrian government banned the full-face veil in public spaces in January, as part of an attempt to counter the rise of the far-right Freedom Party.
'Besides that, not only Muslim women. Every woman can wear a headscarf. And if it goes on - and I am already on the next question - with actual rampant Islamophobia, the day will come that we must ask all women to wear a headscarf.
'All out of solidarity with those who have to on religious grounds.'
Austria banned the burqa, niqab and other face-covering veils earlier this year.
The measure was introduced by the ruling Social Democratic party (SPÖ) and the centre-right Austrian People’s party (ÖVP) to prevent the collapse of their coalition government.
By doing so, they followed in the footsteps of France, which became the first European country to ban the full-face veil officially in 2010.
Bans are also in place in Belgium and some parts of Switzerland.
So... as you can see above, Austria's president has stated that - if the current "rampant Islamophobia" drags on in Austria, the country's women may well be ordered to wear headscarves one day. I, for one, am opposed to this measure, and believe that there are more effective ways to deal with Islamophobia. Can they do so if they choose? Yes, but would they do so if the government mandated it because Islamophobia? Likely not.
But that's enough of me - while you're voting in the poll (options in order from strongest YES to strongest NO, and a couple of extras at the end), what do YOU think? Let us know below.
