Austria’s Islamic headscarf ban in force as under-14s go back to school

Austria's Islamic headscarf ban in force as under-14s go back to school. Image source, Getty ImagesByBethany BellVienna correspondentPublished18 minutes agoAs the new school year begins in Austria, a law banning headscarves in schools for girls under 14 has gone into force.

What happened

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, An 11-year-old student protests the ban in Vienna back in February with the banner "meine Kopftuch, meine Entscheidung" – "my headscarf, my decision"Some teachers have expressed concerns about having to enforce the ban. Carla Amina Baghajati, from the official Islamic Community in Austria (IGGÖ), told the BBC that the organisation "firmly opposes the ban". The court struck down a previous ban on headscarves in primary schools in 2020 on the basis that it contravened the principle of Austria's religious neutrality.

Teachers are expected to enforce the new ban if they see a child wearing a headscarf by holding a series of talks with the student and their legal guardians. The FPÖ's Ricarda Berger said there was "no place for political Islam in Austria, and certainly not in our schools". Austria's Chancellor Christian Stocker, leader of the ÖVP, recently called for a constitutional ban on political Islam, telling Austrian public broadcaster ORF he did not "want to live in an Islamic state".

Related topicsAustriaViennaIslamic veilsMuslimsEurope

The wider picture

Skip to main contentSave this storySave this storyAs students head back to school, parents have all the usual worries about their kids, like remembering to pack lunch and making it to the bus stop on time. Even though there was a 94 percent increase in the number of vaccines administered during the outbreak in Spartanburg County compared to the year before, she still wasn’t comfortable sending her son back to school. Skip to content Menu Home | Back to school in Congo’s Beni brings new Ebola fears Nurse with children in a classroom Image Credits : Reuters Reuters 2 September 2026, 13:41 [SAST] La Reine Vahwere was giving her children key instructions before sending them back to school in Beni on Tuesday (September 1), urging them to wash their hands, avoid physical contact with classmates and use disinfectant to protect themselves from Ebola.

The law forbids "traditional Muslim" head coverings, such as hijabs or burkas, in public and private schools across the country. Integration Minister Claudia Bauer, from the conservative People's Party (ÖVP), says the headscarf is "a sign of oppression and a means of controlling girls from the earliest childhood". It is calling for a general prohibition on headscarves and face coverings in schools for students and teachers alike. In France there has been a ban on wearing any conspicuous religious symbols, including headscarves, turbans and kippas, in schools for more than 20 years.

The Austrian law differs from French legislation in that it specifically targets head coverings worn by Muslim women.

What has been reported

Austria, like several other European countries including France, Belgium and Denmark, bans the full face veil (niqabs or burkas) in public. The first two measles-related deaths of the year were recorded in Pennsylvania, right as the school year is getting going. With vaccination rates dropping across the country, parents of kids who aren’t able to get vaccinated or don’t mount a strong enough immune response due to weakened immune systems are weighing whether it’s safe enough to go to school.

Schiano has been closely monitoring the vaccination rates in her son’s school district, which have dipped below the 95 percent threshold needed for community protection against measles. Her son already wears a mask and uses a plexiglass screen at school, and the family is diligent about handwashing. Now, Schiano says they’ve had to make the difficult decision to limit her son’s time with friends and after-school activities like karate. Her son did online school for a time during Covid-19, and she says she’s prepared to take him out of school if there’s even one confirmed measles case.

Amalia, a parent in South Carolina who asked to go by a pseudonym for privacy reasons, has already chosen to keep her 16-year-old son home this year and do online schooling due to concerns about measles.

What happens next

During Covid, Grace and her brother were homeschooled, and that is something mother and daughter considered again for Grace’s senior year. Even though she is immunocompromised, Grace doesn’t wear a mask at school because of fear of being bullied. “It’s unfortunate that we have to think about that. ”CommentsBack to topJoin the discussionCommentsBack to topYou Might Also LikeIn your inbox: WIRED's most ambitious, future-defining storiesAI slop backlash is actually having an impactBig Story: The cop who took on FlockThe rise of the 1am job interviewWatch: I stole a car by hacking this hidden deviceEmily Mullin is a staff writer at WIRED, covering biotechnology.

At the school entrance, staff were standing by with disinfectant, as returning pupils cleaned their hands before heading to classes. The return to school comes as Democratic Republic of Congo battles its largest Ebola outbreak on record, with more than 6 000 confirmed cases and more than 3 000 deaths reported by September 2. Beni is located in North Kivu, one of six provinces affected by the outbreak, and health officials have warned that the gathering of children in schools could create additional opportunities for transmission.

Vahwere said both her children and she were worried about the risk of infection, while school director Kasereka Malikidogo Justin said the experience of the previous school year had prompted the school to prepare an infirmary.

The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across bbc.co.uk, wired.com, sabcnews.com. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.