Austria’s headscarf ban opens two fronts for government and authorities

Austria’s new headscarf ban for girls under 14 is about to move from legislation into school classrooms, where teachers will have to monitor compliance. The rule bars girls from covering their heads “according to Islamic traditions.” Teachers must ask students who breach it to remove the headscarf and notify school management if they refuse. Fines are possible as a final measure.

That practical responsibility puts schools and authorities on the front line. The federal government will also have to defend the measure before Austria’s Constitutional Court, potentially sooner rather than later. Whether it can show that the ban is both objectively justified and legally permissible remains uncertain.

The court struck down a similar measure introduced by the previous conservative-right coalition for primary schools in December 2020. Its concern was that a rule selectively targeting a particular religious or ideological belief required a special objective justification, which the court found lacking.

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according to Islamic traditions

The Islamic Religious Community in Austria has already announced that it will challenge the new ban. The court rejected initial applications from girls and their parents in July on formal grounds because the ban had not yet entered into force. Once students are directly affected, further applications are expected, allowing the court to examine the substance of the law.

The level of resistance in Muslim communities is still unclear. Paul Kimberger, a teachers’ union official, warned of possible conflicts and said some communities had already indicated that they would not comply. Whether those warnings point to organized protests or isolated cases should become clearer when schools open in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland on September 7.

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that selectively singles out a particular religious or ideological belief requires special objective justification