Austria’s National Council has approved a hijab ban for girls under 14 in schools with broad cross-party support.
The measure prohibits head coverings worn “according to Islamic traditions” in all public and private schools, Austrian news agency ORF reported.
School events outside school grounds are excluded. Sanctions, including fines between €150 and €800, may be imposed starting in the 2026/27 academic year.
The government estimates around 12,000 girls could be affected.
Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm described the headscarf as “a symbol of oppression,” arguing that the law was necessary to safeguard children.
Austrian People’s Party OVP leaders stressed that enforcement would not fall on teachers, who would only be required to inform school administrations.
The New Austria and Liberal Party backed the bill, framing it as a measure to protect children. Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr said the law supports girls’ personal development.
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The Freedom Party, which has long pushed for the ban, said the issue stemmed from “mass immigration” and argued the headscarf represents “political Islam.”
The Greens were the only party to vote against the bill, despite expressing general sympathy for its stated aim.
Deputy parliamentary leader Sigrid Maurer warned the legislation mirrors an earlier ban struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2020 for violating equality principles.
“The government knows this will be overturned,” she said.
Austria’s Islamic Religious Community (IGGO) announced it will immediately appeal to the Constitutional Court, saying the law raises “constitutional and human rights concerns.” The organization emphasized that it rejects coercion but must defend the rights of girls who wear the headscarf voluntarily.
Earlier, Muslim lawyers and educators had already signaled in a statement that they will challenge the legislation in the Constitutional Court.
They argue the new ban repeats provisions struck down in 2020, when judges ruled that such restrictions risk marginalising Muslim girls and violate constitutional protections.
Legal experts say the government’s revised justification remains weak and is unlikely to withstand judicial scrutiny.
Islamophobia on the rise
Austria is generally considered to be one of the most Islamophobic countries on earth.
Last year it recorded the highest number of incidents of Islamophobia last year since records began in 2015, according to data released by Austria’s Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism.
Their annual report said the number of reported cases has risen in 2024, especially since the outbreak of the Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in 2023.
The first place where more cases were reported from October were witnessed in schools, the report said. In the education sector, a spike in anti-Muslim incidents were reported by parents, pupils and teachers alike.
Overall, 66.7% of the documented cases took place online and 33.7% offline while some 87.8% of the cases documented online concerned the spread of hate.
Muslims were dehumanised and compared to animals in online comments, according to the report.
It said 40.8% of all reported cases involved unequal treatment and 19.5% involved insults. The spread of hatred accounted for 8.9% and 2.6% involved physical assaults.
The remaining incidents were divided into the categories of vandalism (7.5%), police violence (7.3%), dangerous threats (3.2%), incitement to hatred (1.8%), bullying and stalking (0.8%) and other (7.7%)
In its report, the Documentation Centre emphasised that its statistics are a snapshot and that the actual number of cases is thought to be significantly higher.
