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Marrakech – Austria’s parliament voted Thursday to ban headscarves in schools for girls under 14, marking the second attempt by the conservative-led government to restrict Islamic head coverings despite a previous law that was struck down as unconstitutional.
The legislation was passed by an overwhelming majority, with only the opposition Green Party voting against the measure. The ban affects approximately 12,000 girls across public and private schools and will take effect in September 2026 after a trial awareness period beginning in February.
The conservative coalition of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), and liberal Neos defended the ban as protecting girls “from oppression.” Yannick Shetty, parliamentary leader of Neos, claimed the headscarf “sexualizes girls” and serves “to shield girls from the male gaze.”
Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm called headscarves for minors “a symbol of oppression.” The government argues the law represents “a clear commitment to gender equality.”
Under the new legislation, girls under 14 are forbidden from wearing “traditional Muslim” head coverings, including hijabs and burqas. Students violating the ban must undergo discussions with school authorities and guardians. Repeated violations trigger youth welfare agency notification, with families facing fines up to €800 ($940).
The far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), while supporting the ban, criticized it as insufficient. FPÖ spokesperson Ricarda Berger demanded “a general ban on headscarves in schools,” arguing “political Islam has no place here.”
Austria previously enacted a similar ban for girls under 10 in 2019. The Constitutional Court overturned that law in 2020, ruling it discriminatory against Muslims and violating the state’s duty to remain religiously neutral.
Legal experts question whether the new legislation will survive constitutional review. Sigrid Maurer from the Greens called the law “clearly unconstitutional.” Even Shetty acknowledged uncertainty, stating: “Will it pass muster with the Constitutional Court? I don’t know. We have done our best.”
The official Islamic Community in Austria (IGGÖ) condemned the ban as violating fundamental rights and threatening social cohesion. The organization stated: “Instead of empowering children, they will be stigmatized and marginalized.” IGGÖ announced plans to review the law’s constitutionality and “take all necessary steps.”
Human rights organizations faulted the legislation as discriminatory. Amnesty International warned it would “add to the current racist climate towards Muslims” rather than empowering girls. The group described it as “blatant discrimination against Muslim girls” and “an expression of anti-Muslim racism.”
Angelika Atzinger from the Amazone women’s rights association argued the ban “sends girls the message that decisions are being made about their bodies and that this is legitimate.”
Georgetown University researcher Farid Hafez suggested the debate serves as a strategic distraction from Austria’s severe economic pressures, including a 4.7% budget deficit. He cautioned that the legislation “sends a chilling message to young Muslim girls and boys that their faith, and by extension their identity, is unwelcome in Austrian society.”
Even if the Constitutional Court strikes down the ban, Hafez noted the damage would already be done. He characterized Vienna’s approach as “entrenching exclusion, normalizing Islamophobia as mainstream politics, and signaling to a new generation of Muslims that their place in Austrian society will always be precarious.”
The legislation emerges at a moment of surging anti-immigration hostility in Austria, where the government is buckling under intensifying pressure from far-right parties that have capitalized on recent electoral gains to reshape the national agenda.
