France I want to use abayas at the School to stop. “You will no longer be able to wear an abaya,” said the Minister of Education Gabriel Attal on Sunday night at TF1 station. This seems necessary and fair to him. Abayas are long, breezy outer garments and are considered a traditional Islamic garment. In France, a debate has recently erupted over whether the garments are clearly religious and should therefore be banned from schools.
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France sees itself as a secular country in which there is a strict separation of state and religion. According to estimates, between 3.5 and 6 million Muslims live in the country with about 67 million inhabitants.
As early as 1994, a law came into force that only allowed discreet – but not visible – religious symbols in schools. Ten years later, headscarves were completely banned in schools – kippahs and crosses were not. In 2010, face veils were banned in public.