Austria: the veil now banned at school for girls under 14

This is now a reality in Austrian schools. Since September 1, a new law prohibits students under the age of 14 from wearing headgear to school which, according to the text, “covers the head in accordance with Islamic traditions”. This Monday, September 7, with the start of the school year in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, the measure begins to be concretely applied.

The ban concerns both public and private establishments. In the event of a first refusal, the management must summon the student and his parents. In the event of a repeat offense, the school authorities and then the child protection services may be contacted. Ultimately, parents face a fine of between 150 and 800 euros. The Austrian government justifies this measure in the name of the “protection” and “self-determination” of young girls. Its opponents, on the contrary, denounce a law which specifically targets Muslims and which infringes on religious freedom.

The subject is all the more sensitive as the Austrian Constitutional Court had already annulled in 2020 a previous ban on the veil in primary schools. She then considered that this measure violated the principle of equality and religious freedom, and that it selectively targeted Muslim students. Several families had tried to challenge the new law before it came into force. Last July, the Constitutional Court rejected their appeals, but only because they were filed too early. It has therefore not yet ruled on the constitutionality of this new ban.

Six years after censoring a first ban deemed discriminatory, Austria is therefore reintroducing a measure which directly targets the Islamic veil. The legal battle is probably just beginning.