Austria’s top court strikes down short-hair rule for male soldiers

Austria’s Constitutional Court has struck down the armed forces’ strict short-hair requirement for male soldiers, ruling that the policy conflicts with equality protections and interferes with personal rights. The judges ordered the Defence Ministry to scrap the rule and replace it with a gender-neutral grooming code for both men and women.

The decision ends a longstanding mandate that professional soldiers and conscripts keep their hair short enough not to touch the collar. The case reached the court after a soldier challenged the policy following an order that he pay a €2,200 fine for wearing his hair in a ponytail, according to BTA.

The court found that the stricter standards applied to men could not be justified and must be removed as inconsistent with the principle of equal treatment. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner had defended the short-hair rule on hygiene grounds and argued that shorter hair reduces injury risk.

The judges rejected those justifications, noting that female soldiers are permitted to wear long hair if it is tied back or secured with hairpins, including in braids and updos. The court emphasized that equal standards must apply across the force regardless of sex, according to Danmarks Radio.

The Defence Ministry is now required to prepare a new, gender-neutral framework governing military hairstyles that complies with constitutional standards and can withstand legal scrutiny.