Austria’s school hijab ban takes effect, drawing charges of discrimination
Law barring girls under 14 from wearing headscarf in schools came into force in September 2026, prompting condemnation from Muslim groups and rights organizations
VIENNA (MNTV) — A contested Austrian law banning girls under 14 from wearing the Islamic headscarf in schools took effect at the start of the 2026 school year, drawing condemnation from the country’s main Muslim organization and international rights groups, who call it discriminatory and have vowed to challenge it in court.
The legislation, passed by Austria’s parliament in December 2025, prohibits female pupils under 14 from wearing head coverings worn “in accordance with Islamic tradition” in both public and private schools.
It was proposed by the ruling coalition of centrist parties and passed with the support of the far-right Freedom Party; only the left-wing Greens opposed it, arguing it was unconstitutional.
Under the law, a school must first hold a discussion with a pupil found in breach and her parents; repeated non-compliance can lead to fines of €150 to €800 ($175–$930) imposed on parents.
The government estimates about 12,000 girls could be affected, and Austria’s education ministry has instructed teachers that any observed violation must be met with an order to remove the headscarf.
Minister Claudia Plakolm and other government figures argue the headscarf can be “a sign of oppression and a means of controlling girls,” and cast the ban as a commitment to gender equality and children’s autonomy.
Roughly 8 percent of Austria’s nine million residents are Muslim, and in Vienna, the capital, Muslims make up a large share of primary-school pupils.
Response from Muslim community
The response from Muslim communities and rights groups has been sharply critical. The Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGO), the body that officially represents the country’s Muslims, called the law an infringement of fundamental rights and pledged to fight it before the Constitutional Court.
Amnesty International Austria condemned it as “blatant discrimination against Muslim girls” that would “add to a racist climate,” and legal scholars have noted that the court struck down a similar, narrower ban in 2020 as unconstitutional — raising doubts about whether a measure singling out Muslim headwear can survive judicial review.
Experts argue that a law claiming to protect girls’ freedom instead removes the choice of those who wear the headscarf voluntarily.
The ban has drawn protest from the girls it targets.
At a demonstration in Vienna before the law took effect, an 11-year-old pupil carried a sign reading “My hijab, my choice,” while a 12-year-old told reporters: “No one can force me to wear a headscarf, and no one can force me to take it off.”
For Austria’s Muslim communities, the measure has deepened a sense of being singled out — part of a wider European pattern in which the visible practice of Islam has become a recurring flashpoint in politics shaped by rising anti-migration sentiment.
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