Muslim Women Will Not Be Seen Wearing Abayas In French Schools; Here’s Why

Education Minister of France – Gabriel Attal made an announcement Sunday (As per France’s time). He said that the government is going to ban the wearing of Abayas in schools of the nation. Hence, women will not be seen wearing the same. To reason the decision made by the authorities, he stated that wearing Abayas tend to break the strict French laws of secularism in education.

Gabriel: wearing Abayas will no longer be possible

“It will no longer be possible to wear an abaya at school,” Education Minister Gabriel Attal told media. The decision was made following months of discussion about the abaya’s wear in French schools, where women have long been prohibited from donning the Islamic headscarf.

To adhere to Islamic principles about modest attire, women wear an abaya, a long, baggy gown. Prior to the start of classes again on September 4 across the country, Attal promised to provide “clear rules at the national level” to school administrators.

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Tensions among the French citizens

According to media reports, there have been reports of tensions within schools over abayas between teachers and parents. “Secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school,” said the report quoting Attal.

The French education minister has described the abaya as “a religious gesture, aimed at testing the resistance of the republic toward the secular sanctuary that school must constitute.” He further stated, “You enter a classroom, you must not be able to identify the religion of the students by looking at them.”

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No religious outfits in schools of France

French legislation had prohibited “the wearing of signs or outfits by which students ostensibly show a religious affiliation” in schools as of March 2004. Large crosses, Jewish kippas, and Islamic headscarves are examples of this. According to an article, the CFCM, a national organization that unites numerous Muslim organisations, has stated that attire alone is not “a religious sign”.