France said it will ban children from wearing the abaya in state-run schools. Abayas are loose-fitted and full-length robes, that are mostly worn by some Muslim women. The decision has garnered both applause and criticism. The government spokesman said that wearing abaya dresses is a “political attack”.
Mixed reactions to the ban
French education minister Gabriel Attal said that the long, flowing dresses that originated in the Middle East would no longer be allowed in schools in the new term because they violate secular laws.
He also said that the government was clear that abayas “did not belong in schools” and that “schools are being tested”. The minister added, “These last few months, violations of our secular rules have considerably increased, particularly with regard to the wearing of religious clothing such as abayas or qamis which have appeared – and remained – in some establishments.”
Meanwhile, a government spokesman Olivier Veran said it was “obviously” a religious garment and “a political attack, a political sign” which he saw as an act of “proselytising” or trying to convert to Islam.
“School is secular. We say it in a very calm but firm way: it is not the place for that (wearing religious clothing),” he told the BFM TV channel.
As quoted by the news agency Reuters, sociologist Agnes De Feo said the ban was “dangerous” since it would only lead to Muslim people feeling even more stigmatised.
During a conversation with France Inter radio, Sophie Venetitay, the head of the secondary school teachers union SNES-FSU, said the ban should not distract people from seeing more important issues schools are facing: “It should not mask all the problems schools have during this back-to-school season.”
Eric Ciotti, who is the head of the conservative Les Republicains party, welcomed the move. Ciotti stressed that his group had repeatedly asked for it.
On the other hand, Clementine Autain, an MP for the hard-left France Insoumise, slammed the decision. She called the decision by the government “clothes police” and a move “characteristic of an obsessional rejection of Muslims”.
The SNPDEN-UNSA union of school principals welcomed the move, saying what it needed above all was clarity, its national secretary, Didier Georges, told Reuters.
Georges said, “What we wanted from ministers was: yes or no? We’re satisfied because a decision was made. We would have been equally happy if the decision had been to authorise the abaya.”
A history of strict dress rules in France
In French schools, women have long been banned from wearing the headscarf. The European nation has enforced a strict ban on religious signs in state schools since 19th-century laws removed any traditional Catholic influence from public education, but it, to some extent, struggled to update guidelines for the Muslim minority.
In 2004, France banned headscarves in schools, which was followed by thousands of people, many of them women wearing headscarves, marching on the street to protest the law banning Islamic coverings and other religious apparel in public schools. The polls stated that a substantial majority of French citizens supported the prohibition.
French secular rules, which are aimed at ensuring equality in public institutions, forbade schoolchildren from wearing “signs or outfits by which students ostensibly show a religious affiliation” in 2004. This includes large Christian crosses, Jewish kippas and Islamic headscarves.
It is now illegal for students to display overt religious or political affiliation through the use of items like the Jewish skullcap, the Islamic hijab, or oversized Christian crosses.
In 2010, France passed a ban on full-face veils in public and the nation brought in a complete ban on clothing that includes full-face coverings, including the burkha and niqab. These cannot be worn in any public space in France and invite a fine of €150 ($162).
Such bans have remained a matter of controversy and the latest announcement, the decision to ban abayas, has sparked a new debate about France’s secular rules and whether they are used to discriminate against the country’s large Muslim minority.
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Muslim population in France in 2023
According to the figures by the national statistics bureau, INSEE, Muslims made up 10 per cent of the French population in 2023. They represented 10 per cent of the French population in 2019 – 2020. A total of 29 per cent of the population, aged 18 to 59, declared themselves Catholic, 10 per cent Muslim, 10 per cent other religions and 51 per cent had no religion.
The report added that the “immigrants coming from traditionally Muslim countries are more engaged in religion,” whereas those from European (with the exception of Portugal) or Asian countries reported being religiously affiliated less frequently.
“Only 20% of the Muslims regularly go to mosques,” said INSEE. “Religion’s place in identity is clearly most significant for Jews (54%) and Muslims (30%), compared to Catholics (6%), and has decreased among Muslims in 11 years.”
INSEE said that “only 20% of the Muslims regularly go to mosques. Religion’s place in identity is most significant for Jews (54%) and Muslims (30%), compared to Catholics (6%), and has decreased among Muslims in 11 years”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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