Several German-speaking cantons have launched an offensive to ban Islamic headscarves for students in public schools, despite legal obstacles. The political debate is more heated than ever, even though the Federal Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that such a blanket ban is unconstitutional.

The ban on hijabs for female teachers, which already prevails in French-speaking Switzerland, is also causing a stir in some parliaments beyond the Sarine River.

At the federal level, the ban on hijabs for schoolgirls under 16 resurfaced in the Federal Assembly last March with a flurry of motions from the Swiss People’s Party (UDC). The Federal Council, which has already been questioned on the matter several times, opposes it, arguing that the measure infringes on religious and personal freedom.

In 2015, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that such a ban would be disproportionate and unconstitutional. It thus sided with a Muslim family from St. Margrethen (SG) against the ban imposed by school authorities on a 12-year-old student.

Zurich and Aargau support

The cantonal parliaments of Aargau and Zurich nonetheless approved motions at the end of August aimed at banning the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in public schools. Similar proposals are under consideration in Bern, Zug, and Schaffhausen.

The Zurich and Aargau governments are now required to draft legislation to this effect. In both cantons, the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and the Liberal Party (FDP) supported the ban in the name of equal opportunities, the left opposed it, while the Centre Party and the Green Liberals are divided on the issue.

In Zurich, the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) motion to ban religious head coverings for women and girls in public schools narrowly passed. Education Minister Silvia Steiner (Centre Party) reaffirmed that the government is prepared to draft a proposal that complies with the Constitution.

“Measures against Islam”

In Aargau, those in favor of banning headscarves for students under 16 invoked gender equality and the protection of girls. While the cantonal government opposed the measure due to concerns about its constitutionality, Education Minister Martina Bircher (SVP) acknowledged that headscarves could be an expression of oppression.

The Green Liberals of Aargau criticized the measure, arguing it targeted only Islam. The Social Democrats (PS) maintain the provision is unenforceable due to anti-discrimination laws.

This week, the Aargau parliament once again took up the issue: after a close vote, it adopted a motion put forward by the UDF, UDC, Centre, and PLR parties to prohibit civil servants from wearing “ostentatious religious clothing and symbols” at work. Its authors explicitly mentioned teachers.

Not in French-speaking Switzerland

In French-speaking Switzerland, where headscarves are tolerated in schools, no similar motion targets schoolgirls. An initiative by the Swiss People’s Party (UDC) in French-speaking Valais “for students to go bareheaded” was invalidated in 2017, and the subsequent appeal was rejected by the Federal Supreme Court. In the canton of Vaud, an UDC motion submitted in March 2023 called for a report on the impact of headscarves in schools; sent to committee, it has not yet resurfaced.

Teachers in French-speaking Switzerland are not allowed to wear the hijab in class in the name of the state’s religious neutrality. This principle was upheld in 1997 by the Federal Supreme Court in the case of a teacher from Geneva. In German-speaking Switzerland, as in Zurich, the issue is also a subject of debate.

Demonstration Saturday afternoon

Following the vote, the Islamic Central Council of Zurich announced it would support a referendum, noting that over 1,000 people had already signed up to its email list. Speaking on Swiss German radio and television, Abduselam Halilovic of the Association of Islamic Organizations of Zurich argued that such a measure would place girls in a “permanent conflict” between their homes, schools, and society.

On Saturday afternoon, around a hundred people from various political parties and religions, including women wearing headscarves, demonstrated against the proposed legislation. The organizers stated that the demonstrators aimed to defend women’s self-determination and oppose state-imposed dress codes.

source https://www.rts.ch/info/regions/autres-cantons/2026/article/voile-islamique-a-l-ecole-offensive-en-suisse-alemanique-29368263.html?utm_source=multiple&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=neobox_en&utm_content=o&utm_term=wpblock_ebu-neo-box