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The Austrian government has put into effect its prohibition on the wearing of Islamic headscarves by girls under 14 as the new school year begins this month, with the measure applying to both public and private institutions nationwide. According to officials, the regulation took force on September 1 but becomes relevant with the staggered return to classes starting September 7 in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, and a week later elsewhere. Education authorities have outlined a stepped response to violations that begins with teachers requesting removal of the head covering in a confidential discussion with the pupil, followed by school leadership conversations with the family if needed.
A parliamentary bill passed late last year frames the restriction as a means to safeguard the child-appropriate development and unfolding freedom of young girls, preventing them from becoming invisible and promoting self-determination and gender equality, the integration ministry has stated. Government estimates place the number of affected girls at around 12,000 across the country, a figure cited by Integration Minister Claudia Bauer in recent interviews with Austrian outlets. The law holds parents responsible for compliance, with repeated infractions potentially resulting in administrative fines ranging from 150 to 800 euros that can be imposed multiple times, according to the education directorate’s guidelines reported by ORF and Kurier.
This represents the second attempt at such a policy after a 2019 ban limited to primary schools was overturned by the Constitutional Court in 2020 for targeting a specific religious group and violating equality principles, as reported by ORF and the New York Times. The current version has already drawn preemptive legal threats from the Islamic Religious Community in Austria, known as the IGGÖ, which has vowed to challenge its constitutionality once more. In a statement, the IGGÖ described the ban as symbol politics at the expense of children and democracy that would stigmatise and marginalise Muslim girls rather than empower them.
A survey conducted among nearly 1,000 Muslim women in Austria found that 93 percent opposed the legislation, with the opposition holding even among those who do not wear the hijab themselves, according to the Austrian Hijab Ban Survey released by Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative. The community has organised protests earlier this year and some influencers have called for resistance, including extreme statements about leaving the country, local media outlets such as Heute have reported. Youth representatives from the Federal Youth Representation have joined the criticism, arguing that the selective focus on Islamic coverings discriminates and contravenes the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Public sentiment among the broader population appears markedly different, with nearly seven in ten Austrians supporting an extension of the ban to all schoolgirls regardless of age, a poll published by The Local has indicated. The far-right Freedom Party has welcomed the step but insisted it falls short and called for a comprehensive prohibition covering all pupils and staff to counter what it terms political Islam. In contrast, the Greens have labelled the law clearly unconstitutional and likely to exacerbate divisions in society.
Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr has expressed confidence that only isolated cases of non-compliance will arise despite boycott appeals, emphasising that the framework ensures no conflicts erupt inside the classroom itself, the APA news agency quoted him as saying. Accompanying studies on religious and cultural tensions at schools will be launched to gather reliable data moving forward, Wiederkehr added. The measure arrives against a backdrop of repeated European debates on religious attire in education, with Austria’s version having faced particular pushback for focusing exclusively on one tradition.
