France wants to ban Islamic overgarments “abayas” in schools

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abayas
France wants to ban traditional Islamic overgarments in schools

Woman in Marseille wears an abaya – such robes will soon be banned in France’s schools.

© SPEICH Frederic / Picture Alliance

In France, there is a strict separation of state and religion. This has an impact on clothing regulations: after headscarves and full veils, Islamic abayas are now also to be banned in schools.

Abayas should be off France’s schools to be banned. “You will no longer be able to wear an abaya,” French Education Minister Gabriel Attal said on Sunday evening on TF1. That seems necessary and fair to him. Abayas are long and airy outer garments and are considered a traditional Islamic garment. In France, a debate was recently sparked about whether the robes are clearly religious and should therefore be banned in schools.

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 around 67 million inhabitants.

Only discrete religious symbols allowed

As early as 1994, a law came into force that only allowed discreet – but not conspicuous – religious symbols in schools. Ten years later, headscarves were completely banned in schools – yarmulkes and crosses were not. In 2010, full face veils were banned in public.

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