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

A new school year brings controversial rules to Austria. The authorities introduced a ban on the wearing of Islamic veil by girls under 14 years of age, the measure being applicable in both public and private educational institutions. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned Austria's newly implemented ban on Islamic headscarves, or hijab, for students under 14 as a 'fascist and bigoted' step backward for religious rights in Europe. The law, passed in December with support from Austria's far-right Freedom Party and implemented […] This Monday's school year marks the entry into force in Austria of an unprecedented law prohibiting Islamic veils in schools for children under 14 years of age. A mother and her two daughters have filed an application before Austria's Constitutional Court to challenge a school headscarf ban for girls under 14 years of age, a court spokespe... Austria's ruling coalition of three centrist parties proposed the ban in schools, arguing it was acting to protect girls' freedom. In Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, the school started on Monday. Thus, the headscarf ban for girls under 14 years of age also came into force in schools.