Austrian Minister for Integration, Family and European Union Affairs Claudia Plakolm announced today that the government has agreed to a ban on the wearing of the hijab for children under 14 in schools.
Plakolm announced after a cabinet meeting that the ban would come into effect in the autumn.
She noted that it would apply to public and private schools, underlining that non-compliance with the law would lead to a meeting with the family, followed by fines of 150 to 1,000 euros for parents.
Asked why students could wear a cross but not a hijab, Plakolm replied that “the hijab is a symbol of oppression, unlike a statue or a cross”.
She said it was the state’s duty to ensure that girls grow up free and make their own decisions, stressing that schools must be safe places for development where nothing should hinder this.
The Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGO) criticized the decision, noting that all previous efforts to work on a constitutional solution had been ignored.
“The ban on wearing the hijab is a symbolic policy to the detriment of children and democracy,” it said in a statement.
They warned that the decision would undermine trust in the rule of law and threaten social cohesion, while stigmatizing and marginalizing children instead of empowering them.
Austria’s Constitutional Court overturned the hijab ban in 2020, in part because it targeted Muslims.
