{"id":102913,"date":"2025-12-20T22:39:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T20:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=102913"},"modified":"2025-12-20T22:39:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T20:39:02","slug":"austria-hijab-bans-spark-concern-over-rights-of-muslim-girls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/austria-hijab-bans-spark-concern-over-rights-of-muslim-girls\/","title":{"rendered":"Austria Hijab bans spark concern over rights of Muslim girls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read | 15 December 2025<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf7 Austria\u2019s parliamentary vote to ban headscarves for girls under 14 has sparked widespread concern, with rights advocates warning the move deepens Islamophobia under the guise of \u201cprotection\u201d and undermines Muslim girls\u2019 freedom to express their faith.<\/p><\/div>\n

Austria\u2019s parliamentary vote to ban headscarves in schools for girls under the age of 14 has ignited strong criticism from human rights advocates, who warn that the move entrenches Islamophobia under the guise of \u201cprotection\u201d.<\/p>\n

The proposed ban, narrowly passed in parliament, has been framed by Austrian authorities as a measure to safeguard young girls. However, critics argue that it disproportionately targets Muslim communities and undermines the autonomy and religious freedom of Muslim girls.<\/p>\n

Award-winning humanitarian and UN Women UK representative Shereen Mahmood described the justification as deeply flawed. \u201cIt\u2019s an absolute shame and travesty that in 2025 hijab is still equated with oppression,\u201d she said, adding that such narratives \u201ctake away from the autonomy of a Muslim woman and a Muslim girl to choose\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mahmood warned that similar policies across Europe, including in France and Switzerland, have shown that bans do not protect Muslim girls but instead marginalise them further. \u201cWe allow freedom to everyone, all backgrounds, sexualities and identities yet young Muslim girls are being targeted,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

Estimates suggest the Austrian ban could affect up to 12,000 girls. While some young Muslims have begun voicing opposition, Mahmood questioned whether adults and institutions have done enough to protect the next generation. She recalled that a previous attempt to ban hijab in Austria was ruled unconstitutional for being explicitly anti-Muslim. \u201cThe only way they could push this through was to claim that young girls don\u2019t have the competence to decide what they should wear,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have warned that the ban risks fuelling a hostile and racist climate. Mahmood emphasised that discriminatory laws often translate quickly into real-world harm. \u201cThe primary targets are always Muslim women and girls who wear hijab. It\u2019s no longer just verbal abuse it turns into real-life violence,\u201d she said, citing examples from the UK following far-right marches.<\/p>\n

She further rejected claims that Muslim girls are being coerced into wearing hijab, arguing there has been little to no engagement with Muslim families or communities. \u201cThere\u2019s no evidence of governments consulting Muslim girls themselves about what hijab means in their lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mahmood called for broader resistance to the ban, urging interfaith leaders, educators and international bodies to speak out. \u201cOnce the hijab is targeted, what\u2019s next? The kippah, the turban, all symbols of faith,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n

She stressed that hijab is not a symbol of oppression but of identity and belonging. \u201cIf Islamophobia is embedded in policy and law, then we must challenge it because this is fundamentally about human rights and the freedom to express one\u2019s faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up<\/em> <\/a>with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and UN Women UK representative Shereen Mahmood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 15 December 2025 Austria\u2019s parliamentary vote to ban headscarves in schools for girls under the age of 14 has ignited strong criticism from human rights advocates, who warn that the move entrenches Islamophobia under the guise of \u201cprotection\u201d. The proposed ban, narrowly passed in parliament, has been framed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":102914,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Hijab-Ban.jpeg?fit=300%2C168&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qLT","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-17 07:24:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}