Headscarf ban starts Monday: SPÖ youth calls for school strike
With the start of the school year in Eastern Austria this coming Monday, September 7, the headscarf ban for girls under 14 will apply in Austrian schools for the first time. On Monday, the SPÖ youth organizations Socialist Youth and Red Falcons, together with the Action of Critical Students, communist youth groups, and the "Schule brennt" (School is Burning) initiative, called for a school strike against the measure on Instagram. The demonstration is scheduled for October 9 at 12:00 p.m. at the Platz der Menschenrechte in Vienna.
For parents, what happens in the school itself starting Monday is what counts first. Head coverings that cover the head according to Islamic traditions are prohibited in both public and private schools. If a girl under 14 wears a headscarf at school, the teacher must ask her to remove it. If this does not happen, a meeting between the school administration, the girl, and her parents will follow. Only in the event of further violations will the education authority be involved and administrative penalty proceedings initiated.
At the end of this chain are fines of between 150 and 800 euros, which are directed at the legal guardians. Minister of Education Christoph Wiederkehr clarified that these can be imposed multiple times: "It is not possible to buy one's way out of the headscarf ban once and for all." Exceptions apply to school events and school-related activities outside of school, as well as for homeschooling.
Legally, the final word has not been spoken. The Constitutional Court overturned a comparable regulation for elementary schools in 2020 because a provision aimed solely at Muslim girls contradicted the state's requirement of religious neutrality. Challenges to the new law have already been announced; a previously filed motion was rejected because the regulation was not yet in force. The federal government justifies the ban by citing the protection of girls from pressure and coercion; the SPÖ federal party explicitly defended it when asked by the APA.
Anyone with a child under 14 at a school in Vienna, Lower Austria, or Burgenland should clarify with the school administration before Monday how the specific location will proceed, and should know that the process begins with a conversation, not a penalty. If a penalty notice is served later, the date of service is crucial, as the deadline for filing an appeal depends on it.