The French government has announced that abayas, the loose-fitting full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, will be prohibited in state-run schools.
France’s education minister, Gabriel Attal, described the abaya as “a religious gesture aimed at testing the republic’s resistance towards the secular sanctuary that school must constitute.”
“When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them,” Attal said.
“I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools.”
The minister spoke with France’s TF1 television on Sunday.
He stated that he would issue clear guidelines on how schools should implement the ban, adding that “secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through education.”
Religious signs are strictly prohibited in state schools and government buildings in France, arguing that they violate secular laws.
Traditional Catholic influences have long been removed from public education, and head scarves have been prohibited since 2004.
The government also banned full-face veils in 2010, which drew harsh criticism from the country’s Muslim community.
The new abaya rule is expected to go into effect on September 4, when the new school year begins in France.
