The Austrian government said this week that it will implement a ban on young girls wearing Islamic headscarves in schools starting from the start of 2026.
Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr said that the coalition government in Vienna has come to a “successful compromise” after the Austrian constitutional court shot down a previous school ban for specifically targeting Muslims.
The government said this week that it expects its new draft of the law to pass constitutional muster.
Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm said per Kronen Zeitung, “A headscarf on an eleven-year-old girl is and remains a symbol of control and oppression,” said Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm this week per Kronen Zeitung.
“Girls develop feelings of shame, they get a distorted body image, an unstable sense of self-worth,” the conservative party minister added.
The law will come into partial effect in February, prohibiting the head covering of girls under the age of 14 in any public, private or religious school in Austria. Starting from the next school year, after an awareness campaign, violations by parents or guardians will result in fines of between 150 and 800 euros.
Since the last time the government attempted to pass such a law in 2019, the number of Muslim girls that would be impacted has risen sharply from 3,000 to an estimated 12,000.
According to a report in April from Vienna City Councillor for Education, Bettina Emmerling, the number of Muslim students in Vienna elementary and middle schools increased to 41.2 per cent this year. Islamic students now make up the largest cohort of young students in the Austrian capital.
In comparison, the number of Christian students stood at just 34.5 per cent, Der Standard reported.
The report also found a increasingly likelihood of Muslim youths to hold “derogatory” views, such as antisemitic beliefs, hostility towards homosexuals, and a rejection of equality of the sexes.
“In light of these developments, a mandatory, common subject, ‘Life in a Democracy,’ is needed more than ever for all children from primary school onward. Democracy, values, and ethics education must be based on a common foundation,” Emmerling said.
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