Mon 28 August 2023:
France plans to ban the abaya, a long loose-fitting overgarment worn by some Muslim women, on school grounds, the country’s education minister said on Sunday.
Gabriel Attal told broadcaster TF1 that the government intends to convey “clear rules” on the matter to school officials across the country.
Attal also said he wanted to speak with the school officials starting next week to help them enforce the ban on the robe-like dress that covers the entire body.
In 2004, the country banned headscarves in schools, and in 2010, it passed a ban on full face veils in public, angering many in its five million-strong Muslim community.
“I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools,” Education Minister Gabriel Attal said in an interview with TV channel TF1. “When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them.”
The French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM), a national body encompassing many Muslim associations, has said items of clothing alone were not “a religious sign”.
Defending secularism is a rallying cry in France that resonates across the political spectrum, from left-wingers upholding the liberal values of the Enlightenment to far-right voters seeking a bulwark against the growing role of Islam in French society.
The decision is the latest in several limitations on Islamic clothing in France, where critics say the government has targeted Muslims with statements and policies in recent years including a claim by President Emmanuel Macron that the religion is “in crisis,” raids on mosques and charitable foundations, and an “anti-separatism” law that slaps wide-ranging restrictions on the community.
According to its Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs page, its laws on secularism include a ban on “attire displaying religious worship” in its schools. In 2022, the French Ministry of Education reported at least 313 violations that have gone against its regulations on secularism. Over half of the cases occurred in high schools and at least 54 per cent involved “religious signs and clothing.”
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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