The French education minister to ban children from wearing abaya in state-run schools

France’s education minister announced on Sunday (August 27) that children will no longer be allowed to wear abayas, the loose-fitting, full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools. This decision was revealed just before the upcoming back-to-school season.

Gabriel Attal, the Education Minister, conveyed during an interview with TF1 television that wearing an abaya at school will no longer be permissible. He indicated his intention to provide “clear rules at the national level” to school administrators prior to the nationwide return to classes scheduled for September 4.

France has a history of prohibiting women from wearing the Islamic headscarf, and the latest step to ban abayas in schools follows months of deliberation on the matter.

The nation has adhered to a strict ban on religious symbols in state schools, a practice stemming from 19th-century laws that aimed to eliminate traditional Catholic influence from public education. However, the challenge lies in modernizing these guidelines to address the Muslim minority population.

Attal emphasized the principle of secularism, explaining that it signifies the freedom to gain self-awareness through education. He labeled the wearing of abayas as “a religious gesture, aimed at testing the resistance of the republic toward the secular sanctuary that school must constitute.”

Attal further asserted that when students enter a classroom, their religious affiliation should not be discernible based on their appearance. The law passed in March 2004 bans the wearing of signs or attire that overtly display religious affiliations in schools. This includes items such as large crosses, Jewish kippas, and Islamic headscarves.

The abaya, a long and loose garment worn to adhere to Islamic principles of modest clothing, occupies a distinct category from headscarves. Although it had not previously been subject to an outright ban, the French education ministry issued a circular in November of the previous year that classified the abaya as part of a group of clothing items whose wearing could be prohibited if they were “worn in a manner as to openly display a religious affiliation.” This circular also encompassed other items like bandanas and long skirts.