How Austria's potential hijab ban inspired a protest by schoolgirls

Austrian lawmakers on Thursday voted by a large majority in favour of a law banning headscarves in schools for girls under 14, a move rights groups and experts say is discriminatory and could deepen societal division.

Austria's conservative-led government - under pressure with anti-immigration sentiment is running high - proposed the ban earlier this year, arguing it is aimed at protecting girls "from oppression".

In 2019 the country introduced a ban on headscarves in primary schools, but the constitutional court struck it down. 

From February, parents of girls under 14 will be issued with fines ranging up to $1,150 if they wear hijabs to school. 

Some Muslim parents say the state is intervening too far into family matters. Esma Kedikli says the draft legislation is a violation of religious freedom. 

"I am speaking not only for my daughter, but for all the girls who have decided to wear the hijab and are now being denied that right," she tells CGTN.

Esma's daughter Ruveyda is one of thousands of Austrian schoolgirls who wear hijabs, or headscarves, at school. 

"It may be that some people are forced to wear it," the 12-year-old says. "But there are many like me who are not being forced."

"I always said I want to be as beautiful as Mummy and wear a headscarf too," 14-year-old Hadije adds.

But the government disagrees. 

"When little girls are covered up, when they are hindered in their development by patriarchal constraints and false notions of honor, then we cannot and must not look away," said Austrian Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm.

The four-figure fines are planned for 'repeat offenders'. Teachers are to report offenses in classes and the police must then enforce administrative penalties against the parents. 

Across Europe, hijab bans have sparked heated debates since the early 2000s when France introduced legislation prohibiting religious symbols in schools. 

While Austria is banning the headscarves, other countries like Germany or Belgium only ban face-covering garments – including the niqab, which covers the face except the eyes, and the burqa, which has a mesh screen for the eyes – in certain public spaces.

This is the second attempt to introduce a hijab ban in Austria after a similar law was overthrown by the constitutional court in 2020.

This time the government has launched what it calls awareness campaigns for young boys and parents, hoping they will help to keep the law in place.