Austrian Constitutional Court will rule on headscarf ban next year, it says

Highlights:

• Ban solely on Muslim headscarves took effect on September 1
• Court says parents, female pupils have filed challenges
• Previous ban for under-10s was struck down in ​2020
• Minister says roughly 80 breaches of ban reported so far

Austria's Constitutional Court expects to rule on a newly introduced ban on Muslim headscarves for under-14s in schools in the first half of next year, it said today (21 September).

The ban, proposed by Austria's ruling coalition of three centrist parties, was ​passed in the lower house of parliament in December with ⁠the support of the far-right Freedom Party. Only the opposition Greens, the ​smallest party in parliament, did not back the legislation.

However, it is unclear whether ​the ban that took effect on September 1 will survive a review by the court. In 2020 it struck down a similar ban that applied to under-10s in ​schools, ruling that it discriminated against Muslims and that the state has ​a duty to be religiously neutral.

"Female pupils between the ages of 9 and 12 as ‌well ⁠as their parents have taken recourse against this rule," the Constitutional Court said in a statement, adding that they argued it violated their freedom of religion and the principle of equality before the law.

"The ruling on the ​headscarf ban is ​expected to be ⁠reached in the first half of 2027," it said.

The legislation stipulates that a school must hold discussions with any ​pupil defying the ban, after which a fine of ​between €150 and €800 ($172 ⁠to $918) can eventually be imposed.

Rights organisations, left-wing groups and the body that formally represents Austria's Muslims oppose the ban.

Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr told national broadcaster ORF ⁠on ​Friday roughly 80 cases of pupils not ​complying with the ban had been reported nationwide.

"That is actually fewer than feared and expected," he ​said.