By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Authorities in France have hinted that the Islamic traditional clothing known as abaya will be banned in schools, saying it violates secularism. Certain Muslim students wear this loose dress on top of other clothes.
“Abayas won’t be allowed anymore in schools”, France’s new Education Minister Gabriel Attal declared on Sunday.
The abaya is a long and loose traditional dress that covers the whole body and is worn in Maghreb and in the Gulf region.
The Islamic veil, the yarmulke or a cross of manifestly excessive dimensions were already banned in French schools in 2004
Abaya is not directly associated with Islam, but is mostly put on by Islamic women, though there is no law requiring Muslim women to wear it.
“Standing together means being clear: the abaya has no place in our schools. Nor do other religious symbols”, said Attal.
More than 4,700 reports alleging breaches of secularism in schools have been documented.
Breaches of secularism, is a very important principle in France.
“In the vast majority of cases, things will be resolved through dialogue in the first few days,” says Gabriel Attal.
Schools will be able to call on “secularism teams” to support them in difficult situations so a solution can be found.
France’s right-wing welcomed this decision.
“Communitarianism is a leprosy that threatens the Republic. I welcome this decision, which proves us right”, said Eric Ciotti, president of Les Républicains right-wing party.
It however attracted protest from the left-wing opposition, Clémentine Autain. French deputy at La France Insoumise far-left party said this proposition was “unconstitutional”, “contrary to the founding principles of secularism” and “symptomatic of the obsessive rejection of Muslims”.
A couple of voices coming from the left-wing supported this ban, with deputy Jérôme Guedj saying: “As soon as the abaya or qamis are worn in an ostentatious manner, they should be banned, as the 2004 law allows, without any major difficulties.”
