Austria’s under-14 headscarf ban faces first test as schools reopen

Austria’s ban on headscarves for girls under 14 faces its first test as schools reopen in Vienna and two other states on Monday. Austria’s main Muslim organisation has called the law discriminatory and plans to challenge it in the Constitutional Court.

The ban applies to schools and was proposed by Austria’s three-party centrist coalition. The government said the measure would protect girls’ freedom. Parliament approved the legislation in December with support from the far-right Freedom Party. The left-wing Greens were the only party in parliament to oppose it.

The Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGO), which formally represents the country’s Muslims, has described the ban as an infringement of fundamental rights. It has pledged to challenge the law before the Constitutional Court.


The court rejected earlier challenges in July because the legislation had not yet come into force. However, it struck down a previous headscarf ban in 2020. That law applied to children under 10 and was found to discriminate against Muslims. The court also said the state had a duty to remain religiously neutral and that any departure from this principle required special justification.

Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr told national broadcaster ORF that the court’s decision could not be predicted.

“You can never be completely certain,” Wiederkehr said.

“We in the government carried out very intensive consultations and we in the education ministry tried very hard to write a law that complies with the constitution,” he said in an interview broadcast on Monday.

Left-wing pupil organisations have called for protests against the ban.

The new school year begins on Monday in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland. The remaining six states will reopen their schools next week.

Under the law, schools must first hold discussions with pupils who continue to wear headscarves. Authorities can then impose fines ranging from €150 to €800 ($175-$930).