A Muslim woman wears an abaya. [Picture: via Pinterest]
The elimination of Islamic symbols in schools in France continues, with the country’s education minister set to introduce a ban on the abaya. The secularist move has prompted backlash from those who see it as curtailment of religious freedom.
“I have decided that we can no longer wear an abaya in schools,” said France’s minister of education, Gabriel Attal. He suggested the latest ban might take effect at the start of the new school year on 04 September. It will be implemented in state-run schools.
A 2004 law banned the display of religious symbols in public spaces, including schools. Although these include Jewish and Christian symbols, attention has been trained on Islamic symbols as the country’s five million-strong Muslim population increases.
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Opposition politicians labelled the move as being part of a broader Islamophobic campaign. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, was sad “to see the return to school politically polarised by a new absurd, entirely artificial, religious war about a woman’s dress“.
While Attal insisted the abaya – a loose-fitting garment worn by Muslim females – was a religious symbol, groups within the Islamic community have contested that idea. Abdallah Zekri, vice-president of the French Council for Muslim Worship, is one of those.
‘‘I think the minister could have asked the opinion of religious leaders … If you go to some stores, you find abayas. It’s a long and loose dress at the same time. It has nothing to do with religion,’’ he is quoted by Ladun Liadi.
In 2018, the United Nations Human Rights Committee said an earlier ban on the niqab (full-face veils) was a violation of the human rights of those who wore it.
Secularism has been offered as an explanation for the rules, but many perceive Islamophobic undertones within French society itself. For example, in early 2023, President Emmanuel Macron stated the education system was “confronted with an epidemic” of Islamic clothing.
