French schools send home dozens of Muslim schoolgirls for refusing to remove their abayas on first day of term – defying classroom ban on Islamic dress
French schools are sending dozens of Muslim schoolgirls home for refusing to take off their abayas on the first day of school β in violation of the ban on Islamic clothing in the classroom
- Nearly 300 girls came to school in France wearing abayas, in a challenging way
- More than 65 girls refused to take off their dresses and were sent home
- France has a ban on religious signs in state schools and government buildings
French schools sent dozens of girls home on the first day of the school year for refusing to take off their abayas β a shoulder-to-foot overgarment worn by Muslim women β a minister said on Tuesday.
In violation of the ban on Muslim clothing, nearly 300 girls showed up wearing an abaya on Monday morning, education secretary Gabriel Attal told the BFM broadcaster.
Most agreed to take the dress off, but 67 refused and were sent home, he said.
The government announced last month that it would ban the abaya in schools. She said she broke the rules on secularism in education, which already ban Islamic headscarves because they are a sign of religious belief.
The move delighted the political right, but the far left argued that it was an affront to civil liberties.
French schools sent dozens of girls home on the first day of the school year for refusing to take off their abayas β a shoulder-to-foot overgarment worn by Muslim women β a minister said on Tuesday. Pictured: A woman wears an abaya in Nantes on August 31
When announcing the ban last month, Attal said at the time: βWhen you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the religion of the students just by looking at them. I have decided that the abaya may no longer be worn in schools.’
Today, Attal said the girls who were denied entry had received a letter, addressed to their families, stating that “secularism is not a restriction, but a freedom.”
If they showed up at school in the dress again, a “new dialogue” would arise, according to the minister.
Late Monday, President Emmanuel Macron defended the controversial measure, saying there was a “minority” in France who “cut down a religion and challenge the republic and secularism,” leading to the “worst consequences” such as the assassination three years ago on teacher Samuel. Paty for showing Mohamed caricatures during a social studies lesson.
“We can’t pretend that the terrorist attack, the murder of Samuel Paty, didn’t happen,” he said in an interview with YouTube channel HugoDecrypte.
An association representing Muslims has filed a motion with the Council of State, France’s highest court, for complaints against the state authorities, for a ban on the abaya and the qamis, the equivalent clothing for men.
The Motion for the Rights of Muslims (ADM) will be heard later Tuesday.
French Education Minister Gabriel Attal (pictured left with Macron on Sept. 1 in Orange, southeastern France) has banned the garment in schools and government buildings
Abdallah Zekri, vice president of France’s Muslim Worship Council, said last month that the abaya “has never been a religious symbol” and should not be banned.
He said the ban is yet another example of politicians using clothes preferred by women and girls to attack some five million Muslims in France.
“I think the minister could have asked the opinion of religious leaders,” Zerkri said.
‘For me, the abaya is not a religious dress, it is a form of fashion.
βIf you go to some shops, you will find abayas. It is a long and loose dress at the same time. It has nothing to do with religion.’
A law introduced in March 2004 banned “the wearing of signs or outfits that students purportedly display religious beliefs” in schools.
Think of large Christian crosses, Jewish skullcaps and Islamic headscarves.
Unlike headscarves, abayas have been in a gray area and so far there has been no outright ban.