Court ruling shows:

IGGÖ discriminated against Islamic teacher without headscarf

The Islamic Religious Community (IGGÖ) discriminated against an Islamic teacher because she took off her headscarf. This is according to a first-instance ruling by the Labor and Social Court, which is available to APA.

The woman is said not to have received a contract as a regional teacher because she did not wear a headscarf, as reported by "profil" and "Standard". The court saw direct discrimination on the grounds of religion, and the IGGÖ intends to challenge the ruling.

The plaintiff, who was employed by the IGGÖ from 2006, had worn the headscarf since she was a child. However, according to court documents, she gradually took it off from around 2016, first in her private life and then in class.

According to the non-final judgment, this led to the plaintiff's application for employment as a Viennese state teacher not being dealt with further and also not being forwarded to the Vienna Education Directorate.

"Discrimination on the basis of religion"
"The motive for this was that, in the opinion of the specialist inspectors, the plaintiff did not wear the headscarf required for a woman's head covering according to Islamic doctrine, or did not wear it constantly or sufficiently", the court saw "direct discrimination on the basis of religion".

The IGGÖ is now to pay compensation of 15,000 euros to the plaintiff for the personal injury suffered.