France prohibits Islamic clothing in classrooms

The action will maintain the country’s secularism legislation, according to the education minister.

The abaya, a full-length Islamic robe, will be prohibited for schoolgirls in France beginning in September, the education minister stated on Sunday, citing the garment’s violation of legislation governing secular education.

According to Gabriel Attal, wearing the abaya to school will no longer be permitted.

The minister claimed that wearing the Islamic robe in class threatens the school’s role as a “secular sanctuary” and that “secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school.”

“When you enter a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to tell a student’s religion just by looking at them,” the teacher said.

There has been much discussion on this topic in France due to allegations that abayas worn in schools lead to hostilities between parents and instructors.

A 2004 French law forbids the wearing of clothes that “ostensibly shows a religious affiliation” in schools, including Jewish kippahs, huge crosses, and Islamic headscarves.

There has been disagreement over the ban. Conservative Les Republicains (The Republicans) party leader Eric Ciotti praised the proposal. He posted on X (a.k.a. Twitter) that “We have repeatedly called for the banning of abayas from our schools.”

Politicians on the left have denounced the law as “Islamophobic.” La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) politician Clementine Autain referred to it as “unconstitutional” and a manifestation of the “obsessive rejection of Muslims.”