Austrian Supreme Court: If You’re Wearing a Face Veil, You Can’t Communicate

Austria's supreme court ruled that a company boss's refusal to let a woman wear the full face veil at work was constitutional.

By , a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2015-2016 and was previously an editorial fellow.
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 11:  Two women wearing Islamic niqab veils stand outside the French Embassy during a demonstration on April 11, 2011 in London, England. France has become the first country in Europe to ban the wearing of the veil and in Paris two women have been detained by police under the new law.  (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 11: Two women wearing Islamic niqab veils stand outside the French Embassy during a demonstration on April 11, 2011 in London, England. France has become the first country in Europe to ban the wearing of the veil and in Paris two women have been detained by police under the new law. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 11: Two women wearing Islamic niqab veils stand outside the French Embassy during a demonstration on April 11, 2011 in London, England. France has become the first country in Europe to ban the wearing of the veil and in Paris two women have been detained by police under the new law. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

A Muslim woman working at an Austrian company had a simple request: She already wrote a headscarf and abaya -- a garment that covered the rest of her body -- but she wanted to begin wearing a full face veil too.

A Muslim woman working at an Austrian company had a simple request: She already wrote a headscarf and abaya — a garment that covered the rest of her body — but she wanted to begin wearing a full face veil too.

Her boss refused to let it happen, allegedly telling her that she couldn’t take her “experiment in ethnic clothing” into the workplace.

On Tuesday, Austria’s supreme court ruled that her boss was right, claiming in its decision that leaving one’s face uncovered is one of the “undisputed basic rules of communication” in Austria.

Both the woman and her employer remained anonymous, and the court agreed that she was probably discriminated against due to the language her boss used, even if he was constitutionally correct in refusing to allow her to wear the veil at work. For that reason, the court awarded her around $1,320 —  a fraction of the some $9,300 she argued that she deserved.

Austria’s far-right, anti-immigrant party lost the recent presidential elections by a narrow margin, and just won the opportunity for a second, snap election in August. Their platform was based largely on a narrative that refugees — many of whom are Muslim — threaten Austria’s social fabric.

Tuesday’s ruling is the latest in a series of decisions in Europe that prevent Muslims from practicing certain aspects of their faith if they’re believed to interrupt with the country’s social codes.

In May, two male teenage Muslim students from Syria who attend a school in Therwil, Switzerland, were told they would be forced to pay a $5,000 fine if they refused to shake their female teachers’ hands, a custom in Swiss classrooms. “The public interest with respect to equality between men and women and the integration of foreigners significantly outweighs the freedom of religion,” Therwil’s local education department said in a statement at the time.

Photo credit: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Siobhán O'Grady was a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2015-2016 and was previously an editorial fellow.

Read More On Austria | Europe | Religion

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.