Austria has passed a law intended to ban Muslim girls from wearing a headscarf in primary schools. The Jewish yarmulke and Sikh patka are not included in the new measure.
Austrian MPs on Wednesday approved a law aimed at banning the headscarf in primary schools, a measure proposed by the ruling right-wing government.
To avoid the impression that it targets Muslims, the text refers to any “ideologically or religiously influenced clothing which is associated with the covering of the head.”
Representatives of both parts of the governing coalition, the centre-right People’s Party (OeVP) and the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), have made it clear that despite its wide description, the law is targeted at the Islamic headscarf.
The government said late Wednesday that the patka head covering worn by Sikh boys or the Jewish yarmulke would not be affected because the law refers to head garments that “cover all of the hair or large parts of it.” Exceptions are made for head coverings for medical reasons or protection against rain or snow.
ÖVP lawmaker Rudolf Taschner said the law was meant to “free girls from submission,” while FPÖ education spokesman Wendelin Mölzer said it was about sending a signal “against political Islam” and promoting integration.
Austria’s official Muslim community organization, IGGÖ, has said it would legally challenge the “destructive” law that “discriminates exclusively against Muslims.”
An Austrian ban on full-face coverings introduced in 2017 as part of an “integration” policy aimed at limiting the visibility of orthodox Islam in public life was criticised by police after it emerged that the law mainly resulted in the issuing of warnings against people wearing smog masks, skiing gear and animal costumes.
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Denmark enacted a ban on the wearing of face veils in public in 2018, joining France and other EU countries. Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria, have all imposed curbs on the wearing of face veils in public.
