Overview
- Parliament approved the law on December 11 with backing from ÖVP, SPÖ, NEOS and the FPÖ, while the Greens were the sole dissenters.
- The prohibition targets head coverings that conceal the head "according to Islamic traditions," a scope central to both the government’s rationale and critics’ discrimination concerns.
- An information phase begins in February 2026, with enforcement starting in the 2026/27 school year after school-level interventions, and fines of €150–€800 for parents in persistent cases.
- Ministers framed the move as child protection and support for girls’ free development, with Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm calling the headscarf a sign of oppression.
- The IGGÖ announced a complaint to the Constitutional Court, Amnesty International criticized the law as discriminatory, and a similar 2019 ban was struck down in 2020, leaving the new law’s durability uncertain; the government estimates about 12,000 girls could be affected.