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🇦🇹 Austria /Culture & Society

Teachers’ leader Kimberger reports calls to boycott Austria’s school headscarf ban

From Die Presse · () German

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

At a glance

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  • Austria’s top teachers’ representative, Paul Kimberger, expects schools to implement the headscarf ban for girls up to age 14 respectfully, though he predicts conflicts at some schools.
  • Kimberger said social media carried boycott calls and advice on which head coverings might circumvent the ban, which takes effect at the start of the school year.
  • He called for stronger support from authorities, society and parents, as well as further measures against what he called political Islam.

Austria’s head teachers’ representative says schools should enforce the new headscarf ban without humiliating the girls affected, even as boycott calls and evasion tips circulate online.

Paul Kimberger of the FCG teachers’ group expects schools to apply the ban “appreciatively and sensitively” to girls under 14. “There is no interest in putting these girls in an uncomfortable situation,” he told APA. He nevertheless expects conflicts at some locations.

There is no interest in putting these girls in an uncomfortable situation.

· Paul KimbergerHe said schools should implement the ban sensitively.

The ban takes effect when the new school year begins next week. If a girl under 14 arrives at school wearing a headscarf, teachers must ask her to remove it. If she refuses, they must immediately report the matter to the school leadership. Kimberger said teachers have discretion over how to handle the conversation, including speaking to the girl before lessons or at the end of the school day rather than embarrassing her in front of classmates.

A law in force must be implemented, whether I personally support it or oppose it.

· Paul KimbergerHe criticized opposition to the headscarf ban.

Kimberger criticized Ümit Vural, president of the Islamic Religious Community in Austria, after Vural expressed understanding for resistance to the law in an ORF interview. “A law in force must be implemented, whether I personally support it or oppose it,” Kimberger said. He argued that anything capable of hindering children’s development has no place in schools, and that this includes the headscarf. In his view, Austria introduced a clear rule at least 10 years too late.

He also called for more measures against “political Islam,” including action against self-appointed “morality guardians” at some schools. Kimberger said some schools in major urban areas faced a mix of violence and cultural conflicts that he described as unacceptable in Austrian schools. He urged substantial support from multiple sides, warning that the conflicts could otherwise become much larger.

We need substantial support from various sides to get these problems under control in schools.

· Paul KimbergerHe called for help addressing violence and cultural conflicts at some schools.
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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