France Proscribes Muslim Abayas In Schools

The French government has revealed that pupils in state-run schools will be banned from wearing abayas, loose-fitting full-length robes worn by some Muslim women.

France’s education minister, Gabriel Atta described the abaya as “a religious gesture, aimed at testing the resistance of the republic toward the secular sanctuary that school must constitute”.

“When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them,” Attal said.

“I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools.”

The minister spoke in an interview with France’s TF1 TV on Sunday.

He said he would give clear rules on how schools should proceed with the ban, adding that “secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school”.

France has a strict ban on religious signs in state schools and government buildings, arguing that they violate secular laws.