Hundreds protest Austria’s school headscarf ban in Vienna

Several hundred people took part in a school strike in Vienna on Friday to protest Austria’s ban on headscarves for girls up to age 14 on school grounds, ORF reported. Protests were also called in other federal states against what organisers described as “racism, sexism and militarisation”.

The demonstrations were organised by SPÖ youth groups, the Socialist Youth, the Action of Critical Students, the Red Falcons, communist youth organisations and the “School Is Burning” initiative. Speakers criticised the ban and called for more funding for education and further protests. One speaker from the student organisation AKS said schools should empower girls rather than make decisions over their heads.

Since the start of the school year, authorities have held 252 meetings with parents at regional education directorates and filed 87 reports over continued violations, according to the figures reported. In Vienna, there had been 210 meetings and 53 reports as of October 8. District administrative authorities can impose fines of between 150 and 800 euros, including for repeated violations.

Lower numbers were reported elsewhere. Lower Austria recorded 11 reports and nine meetings, Salzburg nine reports and four meetings, Styria seven and 10, Upper Austria four and six, and Vorarlberg three and seven. Carinthia had two meetings and Tyrol four, with no reports filed in either state. Burgenland reported no meetings.

The education ministry said there was no notable concentration of violations at particular schools. It also said most girls at Islamic schools, where more students may be affected by the ban, were following the rule. Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr said most students and parents had cooperated and that meetings with parents after violations were “mostly successful”.

The current ban applies to girls up to age 14. An earlier ban introduced in the 2019-20 school year applied only to primary schools and was overturned by Austria’s Constitutional Court after just over a year. The court said a rule targeting only Muslims was incompatible with the state’s religious neutrality. The current law has also been challenged, with a ruling expected in the first half of 2027.