France’s education minister has declared that students will be prohibited from wearing abaya, a full-length loose-fitting robe worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools starting from the upcoming school year commencing on 4 September.
The decision is part of France’s broader stance on banning religious signs in state schools and government institutions, arguing that such displays contravene secular laws.
The ban on headscarves in state schools was enacted in 2004, and now the education minister, Gabriel Attal, has extended this prohibition to include the abaya.
The move follows a period of intense debate within French society regarding the presence of abayas in schools, generating division along political lines.
Minister Attal emphasized the importance of secularism in schools, stating, “Secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school.”
He contended that the abaya is perceived as a religious gesture that tests the resilience of the republic’s commitment to maintaining schools as secular sanctuaries.
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The decision to prohibit abayas has ignited divergent reactions, with right-wing parties supporting the ban while left-leaning factions express concerns for the rights of Muslim women and girls.
France has historically upheld stringent regulations against religious symbols in schools since the 19th Century. This approach was initially aimed at minimizing Catholic influence in public education, with measures extending to Christian symbols like large crosses.
As France’s demographics evolved to include a diverse population with Muslim and Jewish communities, updates to the law included bans on the Muslim headscarf and Jewish kippa, but abayas had not been explicitly banned before this decision.
The debate surrounding Islamic symbols intensified after the tragic murder of teacher Samuel Paty in 2020, sparking discussions on the place of religious symbols within the educational context.
The new policy represents a significant step by Education Minister Gabriel Attal, who assumed office this summer at the age of 34.
Amid the discussions, the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), a prominent body representing various Muslim associations, asserted that garments alone should not be classified as “religious signs.” This pronouncement further fuels the ongoing discourse on the interplay between secularism, cultural expression, and religious identity in the French educational system.
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