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🇦🇹 Austria /Culture & Society

SPÖ youth groups call for school strike over Austria’s headscarf ban

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Austria’s Socialist Youth, Red Falcons and allied groups called for a school strike in Vienna against a law banning girls up to age 14 from wearing headscarves at school.
  • Organizers also plan to protest racism, sexism and the militarization of schools on October 9 at Vienna’s Platz der Menschenrechte.
  • The government and the SPÖ defend the ban as a measure to protect Muslim girls from being forced to wear headscarves, while the FPÖ sharply criticized the youth groups.

Austria’s headscarf ban has become the target of a planned school strike backed by youth organizations linked to the governing Social Democratic Party, as well as communist youth groups and the initiative Schule brennt.

The organizers announced an October 9 demonstration at Vienna’s Platz der Menschenrechte. Their call opposes not only the ban, but also what it describes as racism, sexism and the militarization of schools. A text shared by the Socialist Youth and Red Falcons said Muslim young people were being politically targeted while the Austrian military had visited schools almost 3,000 times during the previous school year to promote what the organizers called war propaganda. It warned that racism serves the preparation for war.

The law, approved by the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS, prohibits girls up to age 14 from wearing headscarves on school grounds. Violations can bring fines of up to 800 euros. The measure is due to take effect with the start of the school year in eastern Austria, although legal challenges have been announced.

Racism serves the preparation for war.

— Schule brenntThe initiative’s statement, shared by SPÖ-linked youth groups, connected opposition to the headscarf ban with criticism of militarization in schools.

The federal government says the ban protects the freedom of Muslim girls. Integration Minister Claudia Bauer of the ÖVP described the headscarf as a sign of oppression and a means of controlling girls from early childhood. The SPÖ leadership also defended the law, saying every child deserves to grow up independently regardless of gender, background or religion. It said schools should help prevent girls from being forced to wear a headscarf and reduce pressure on those who consciously choose not to wear one.

The Constitutional Court struck down a similar primary-school rule in 2020, finding that a measure targeting Muslims alone conflicted with the state’s religious neutrality. FPÖ lawmaker Lisa Schuch-Gubik accused the SPÖ youth organization of betraying Austrian values by acting with radical forces in support of what she called a symbol of women’s oppression.

A sign of oppression and a means of controlling girls from the earliest childhood.

— Claudia BauerAustria’s integration minister described the headscarf while defending the government’s ban.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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