Since 1 September, Austria has banned headscarves for female pupils under 14 at state and private schools. Repeated breaches of the rule could lead to fines of €150 to €800 for parents.
Since the start of the 2026/27 school year on 1 September, female pupils in Austria under the age of 14 have been prohibited from wearing any headscarf at school that “covers the head in line with Islamic traditions.”
Teachers’ representatives say the new rule has generally been implemented calmly and respectfully. At the same time, some schools have reported conflicts and, in some cases, aggressive reactions.
The new law was already controversial before it came into force, with critics questioning whether it was compatible with freedom of religion and the principle of equality.
Legally dictating that children are slightly less forced into superstitious habits?
Seems perfectly fine to me.
Where do I get the right to tell you anything about how much clothing you must remove from your children?
That’s what you’re doing. You’re giving me that power. You’re telling me that my decision on what your children must wear supersedes both your judgment, and theirs. They don’t get to wear what they want, because I have decided that they need to show me some skin.
You think I should have that power because your beliefs are superstitious nonsense and you can’t be trusted to exercise those beliefs?
^ This is fascism. This is what fascism looks like. It slips in quietly, and polishes away those minor nonconformities that have been so offending our delicate sensibilities It establishes and promotes the idea that we’re all better off with just a touch more authoritarianism. One more edict, one more imposition of state against an individual we don’t really like. That’s “perfectly fine”.
Fuck that. Democracy says power flows from the people. The state serves the people, collectively and individually. And the state has no legitimate interest in dictating what may and may not be worn by children.
This law is bigoted nonsense.
I don’t like tgis supersticious habit, so i support the racist superstitious habit.
Forcing kids to wear specific item of clothing, or forcing kids to not wear specific item of clothing is the same superstitious habit, just with a different superstition behind it.
Exactly.
10-year-old girl with alopecia shows up with a head scarf. Are you (indefinite “you”… not yelling at you in particular) making her remove her scarf? How about if she’s also Muslim?
You gonna fuck with a Muslim cancer patient for wearing a headscarf? Gonna make her prove she has cancer before you tolerate it?
Or are you going to mind your business and leave her to mind hers?
These laws are a train wreck.
This law made to hurt Muslim people, women, and Muslim women. There is no other purpose to it.