Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix news,
The Austrian government will move ahead this week with plans to ban headscarves for girls under 14 in schools, a measure officials frame as promoting equality.
In an interview with Bild cited by Welt, Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) said, “I want girls, regardless of their religion, to have the same opportunities in our free and Western society. And that’s why I see the headscarf for girls under 14 as a sign of oppression.”
The proposed law sets out a staged response to violations: first, a conversation with the girl concerned, then with her parents, followed by possible involvement of youth welfare authorities. Repeated breaches could result in administrative penalties. Plakolm stressed that the measure would apply only in schools and educational institutions, not in public spaces.
“Public space is rightly a very well-protected area, and that’s something that probably wouldn’t stand up in a constitutional court,” she said.
The minister also linked the proposal to broader changes in Austria’s migration and integration policy.
She said the government plans a “three-year integration phase” for asylum seekers and migrants, during which they will receive only an integration allowance rather than full social benefits.
“There will be no social assistance during this integration phase, but only an integration allowance, and the amount will depend on how willing people are to fulfill their integration obligations,” Plakolm explained.
The move follows an announcement made by Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) in June for newly arriving children and teenagers to undergo a one-semester integration course prior to starting school.
Under the new system, children will first attend a semester-long orientation class where they will acquire basic German language skills to facilitate communication, fundamental school skills, such as writing, using scissors, and following classroom etiquette, and social values, including respect, equality, and tolerance.
The opposition Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) insisted the move manages the symptoms and fails to address the root cause of mass immigration.
A previous headscarf ban in elementary schools, introduced in 2019 by a coalition of conservatives and the Freedom Party, was struck down by Austria’s Constitutional Court. Plakolm argued that the new version comes with accompanying measures aimed at helping young women live self-determined lives. She emphasized that “the new law is not a measure against Islam.”
Austria’s Muslim community has previously clashed with Plakolm over her rhetoric. In July, the Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGÖ) said it was “deeply disturbed” after she described the headscarf as a “symbol of oppression” that must not be permitted in schools. The group warned at the time that her remarks threatened religious freedom and stigmatized Muslim girls.
The move comes amid mounting tensions in Austria’s schools. In October last year, a survey by the Vienna teachers’ union found rising difficulties linked to mass immigration, with many children facing language barriers and some schools reporting extreme incidents.
According to the Kronen Zeitung, these included assaults on teachers, requests from parents that staff wear burqas, and even mock executions staged by pupils. One middle school headmistress described the problems but requested anonymity, citing fear of reprisals.
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