Austria’s government is once again moving to impose a headscarf ban targeting Muslim girls in schools — reviving a policy first introduced in 2019 by the former right-wing coalition led by then-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache.
That original law applied to primary school pupils aged six to ten and imposed fines of up to €440 on parents who failed to comply, or even short prison sentences as substitutes.
However, in 2020, Austria’s Constitutional Court struck down the measure, ruling that it breached both religious freedom and the principle of equality before the law. The judges found the ban explicitly targeted Muslim girls and therefore violated the state’s duty of neutrality.
Despite that ruling, the current government is again pushing for a similar ban — this time extending it to all schools, both public and private, up to the eighth grade. If passed, it would apply to girls up to the age of 14.
Under the new proposal, penalties are harsher than before: parents who allow their daughters to wear the headscarf could face fines of between €150 and €1,000, or up to 14 days in prison. The measure could come into effect as early as February 2026.
A notable difference from the 2019 attempt lies in the political makeup behind it. While the earlier law was driven by the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP), this new proposal is being advanced by the ÖVP in cooperation with the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the liberal Neos.
The fact that parties branding themselves as centrist or liberal are now advancing such policies underscores a broader European trend: ideas once confined to the far right are being normalised within the political mainstream.
Austria’s Islamic Religious Community (IGGÖ) has condemned the proposal, warning that it places Muslims under “collective suspicion.”
Legal experts have voiced similar concerns, arguing that the revised draft still breaches the principle of equality by targeting a single religious group.
Freedom for some, suspicion for others
The Austrian government insists the law is designed to protect girls, with a spokesperson for Minister Claudia Plakolm of the ÖVP, who heads the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Family, saying, “The aim of the law is to strengthen the self-determination of underage girls in schools.”
When asked why the ban does not apply to other religious symbols — such as the Jewish kippah or the Sikh dastar (turban) — the spokesperson said the “children’s headscarf” was a “symbol of oppression” that limited girls’ freedom. The ministry added that this did not apply to the kippah or dastar.
Critics say such arguments expose the discriminatory nature of the proposal. By labelling one religious practice as oppressive while exempting others, they argue, the government is reinforcing Islamophobic stereotypes under the guise of promoting gender equality.
This selective characterisation of the Muslim headscarf is also the reason why Austrian constitutional lawyers such as Heinz Mayer believe that the new draft law will likely be overturned — just as it was in 2020 — since it again constitutes a violation of the principle of equality.
Amnesty International Austria has also condemned the measure.
“Amnesty International considers a blanket ban on headscarves to be an obvious violation of the rights of Muslim girls who wear a headscarf — including the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of religion,” the organisation said in a statement. “Furthermore, this sweeping interference with the human rights of a specific group — in this case, Muslim girls exclusively — is discriminatory.”
The headscarf as a marker of ‘the other’
Above all, many Muslims see the proposal as another example of unequal treatment of their religion.
Aya Elghanam, a social and vocational educator living in Vienna who is an Austrian Muslim and wears the hijab, is similarly critical of the government’s claim that the measure is about the welfare of children.
As Aya points out, the assumption that girls under 14 would never choose to wear the headscarf is factually incorrect.
“Especially at a time when young people are going through a phase of identity formation, such a ban can send the message that a part of their identity is not accepted,” says Aya.
This rejection, she adds, also undermines Muslim youths’ trust in institutions, politics, and society.
Austrian philosopher and author Amani Abuzahra shares this view, calling the proposal an expression of anti-Muslim racism.
“The headscarf is deliberately misused as a marker of a ‘foreign’ religion and turned into a symbol of what supposedly does not belong,” she said. “It is precisely this unequal treatment of religious symbols that shows this is not about neutrality, but about questions of power.”
She added that while other children are encouraged to explore different aspects of their identities, Muslim girls are being denied that same right.
Previously, Austria’s IGGÖ voiced growing concern over comments made by Minister Claudia Plakolm. In July, she broadly described the headscarf as a sign of “extremist tendencies” — a statement that drew criticism from Muslim groups.
“Linking the headscarf, as an expression of religious practice by a legally recognised religious community in Austria, with ‘extremist tendencies’ unsettles not only many young Muslim women but also all those who rely on the protection of freedom of religion and equal treatment,” the IGGÖ’s press office said.
The organisation also reiterated its stance against any form of coercion. “As the IGGÖ, we continue to oppose any form of coercion — both the coercion to wear a headscarf and the coercion to remove it,” the statement added.
Edina Husović, a representative of the IGGÖ, emphasised that wearing the headscarf should always be a personal choice.
“It should be voluntary and based on personal conviction,” she said.
A double standard
The hypocrisy of Austria’s discourse on the headscarf and Muslims is highlighted by a recent visit from Taliban representatives, who came to identify Afghan refugees held in the country, even though the regime is recognised only by Russia.
For many observers, the contradiction is striking. The very Austrian government that justifies the headscarf ban by claiming to protect schoolgirls is simultaneously cooperating with a regime that excludes women and girls from schools and universities, and has even begun banning books written by women from university curricula.
Yet the Austrian government’s approach is part of a broader pattern: The government knowingly accepts the high likelihood that the headscarf ban for schoolgirls will once again be overturned — because its primary purpose is to lend credibility to an anti-Muslim agenda and to continue appealing to right-wing voters.
Critics say Austria’s anti-migration policies go hand in hand with Islamophobia, and it makes little difference if this means cooperating with a misogynistic regime to accelerate deportations.
Ultimately, the supposed protection of girls is highlighted only when it can be instrumentalised to advance an anti-Muslim agenda.
Elias Feroz studied Islamic religion and history as part of his teacher training programme at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. Elias also works as a freelance writer and focuses on a variety of topics, including racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, the politics of history, and the culture of remembrance
Follow him on X: @FerozElias