Headscarf ban for girls under 14: Plakolm is planning new regulation in autumn!

Headscarf ban for girls under 14: Plakolm is planning new regulation in autumn!

Family and Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP) is planning a controversial ban on headscarves for schoolchildren under the age of 14, which is to be decided in autumn 2025. The draft law is currently in the government's vote. Plakolm emphasizes that this project is not concerned with religious issues, but about child welfare. The aim is to protect girls from suppression and discrimination, such as vienna.at reports.

However, this project is in the context of a previous judgment of the Constitutional Court, which in December 2020 declared an earlier ban on headscarf for elementary students as unconstitutional. This judgment stated that a ban that was specifically directed against Muslim children violates freedom of faith and conscience as well as the right to religious education. The Court pointed out that the state could not unilaterally prohibit religious regulations, which was assessed as discriminatory (rihs.law).

social and political implications

The judgment, which is one of the most important in 2020, has far -reaching social and political implications. It sets clear barriers for government interventions that affect certain religious groups and recognizes the headscarf as an expression of individual freedom and religious diversity. Children should be able to live out their religious identity in accordance with the fundamental rights without the fear of state interventions (rihs.law).

plakolm plans to take accompanying measures to secure the child's well -being. She speaks of the need to take the parents responsible and to provide support for youth welfare and school psychology when it comes to the well -being of the children. Special attention should also be paid to boys that may arise as a "moral monitor". However, girls from the age of 14 are allowed to decide on their clothes themselves, since they are then considered religious (vienna.at).

criticism of general headscarf bans

Critics of a general ban on headscarf argue that such regulations can violate children's religious freedom and impair the right to education. The German Institute for Human Rights emphasizes that milder measures should be used before a ban and that interventions should only take place in individual cases. A ban could lead to discrimination and damage the child's welfare, while pedagogical measures should be used primarily to reduce social pressure (ufuq.de).

In the debate about headscarf bans, it is emphasized that schools should create conditions for the development of independent personalities as learning locations. Protection against discrimination must not be achieved through discriminatory regulations, but should be carried out by promoting respectful use of religious diversity. The religious freedom of children is anchored in the UN Convention on the Rights of Children and requires a school environment that enables diversity (ufuq.de).