Austria advances plan to ban headscarves for girls under 14
Austria’s ruling coalition announced Tuesday that it is moving ahead with legislation to ban the wearing of headscarves in schools for girls under the age of 14, despite criticism from rights groups and concerns that the measure could again be overturned by the Constitutional Court.
The conservative-led coalition took office in March after the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) won around 29% of the vote in last year’s parliamentary election but failed to secure a coalition partner. The current government, formed by three centrist parties, has made combating illegal immigration a central part of its agenda — a stance critics argue contributes to rising anti-Muslim sentiment, according to Reuters.
The draft legislation is scheduled for debate in the lower house later this week. “This is not a measure against a religion. It is a measure to protect the freedom of girls in this country,” said Yannick Shetty, parliamentary leader of the liberal Neos party, speaking at a joint press conference with leaders of the other governing parties. The proposed ban could affect up to 12,000 children, he added.
Austria’s Islamic Religious Community, the official representative body of Muslims in the country, condemned the plan, arguing that it infringes on fundamental rights. The FPO, meanwhile, welcomed the proposal and called it a “first step” toward a wider ban covering all students and school staff.
Amnesty International warned that adopting the law in its current form “will not empower girls – on the contrary, it will add to the current racist climate towards Muslims.”
A similar ban targeting girls under 10 was struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2020 on the grounds that it singled out Muslims and violated the state’s obligation to remain religiously neutral. Government officials say they have tried to draft the new legislation in a way that avoids the same legal pitfalls.
“Will it pass muster with the Constitutional Court? I don’t know. We have done our best,” Shetty said.
