Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr said that the coalition government in Vienna has come to a “successful compromise” after the Austrian constitutional court shot down a previous school ban for specifically targeting Muslims.
The government said this week that it expects its new draft of the law to pass constitutional muster.
Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm said per Kronen Zeitung, “A headscarf on an eleven-year-old girl is and remains a symbol of control and oppression,” said Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm this week per Kronen Zeitung.
“Girls develop feelings of shame, they get a distorted body image, an unstable sense of self-worth,” the conservative party minister added.
The law will come into partial effect in February, prohibiting the head covering of girls under the age of 14 in any public, private or religious school in Austria. Starting from the next school year, after an awareness campaign, violations by parents or guardians will result in fines of between 150 and 800 euros.