Austria headscarf ban challenged in court
A mother and her two daughters have challenged Austria’s new school headscarf ban before the Constitutional Court, the court confirmed Monday.
The application was filed on the first day the regulation took effect with the start of the new school year, according to the Austrian news agency APA and Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
The measure prohibits girls under 14 from wearing a headscarf that covers the head in accordance with Islamic traditions while attending school.
Schools must initially summon the student and her parents if the ban is violated. If the girl continues to wear the headscarf, the parents can be required to meet with the responsible school authority.
Repeated violations can ultimately result in fines ranging from €150 ($175) to €800.
Previous ban overturned
The legislation was introduced by Austria’s governing coalition of the conservative Austrian People’s Party, the Social Democratic Party and the liberal Neos.
Austria’s Constitutional Court previously overturned a similar measure introduced in 2019 that applied to girls in primary schools.
The court found that the earlier law specifically targeted Muslim girls and did not apply equally to other religious forms of head covering.
The latest regulation has again drawn criticism from Austria’s Islamic Religious Community, known by its German acronym IGGÖ.
The group has said it will advise and support families affected by the ban and is preparing its own legal challenge.
The new case will put the latest legislation under constitutional scrutiny and could revive questions over religious freedom, equal treatment and the state’s role in regulating religious expression in Austrian schools.
Source:APA-DP
