France is set to prohibit the wearing of abaya dresses by Muslim women in schools, citing violations of the country’s stringent secular education laws, according to Education Minister Gabriel Attal.
In an Agence France-Presse report, Attal announced that he will establish “clear rules at the national level” for school administrators before classes resume nationwide on September 4.
This decision follows months of discourse surrounding the presence of abayas in French schools, where the use of Islamic headscarves by women has long been banned. The proposal to ban abayas received support from right-wing and far-right factions, whereas the left argued that it would infringe upon civil liberties.
Instances of abayas being worn in schools and conflicts arising between teachers and parents over the matter have been reported.
Attal stressed that secularism signifies the freedom to attain empowerment through education. He characterized the abaya as “a religious gesture, aimed at testing the resistance of the republic toward the secular sanctuary that school must constitute.”
Moreover, Attal emphasized the importance of classrooms being neutral spaces without visible religious indicators. The abaya, a loose-fitting, long garment aligned with Islamic modesty principles, previously occupied a gray area and was not explicitly prohibited until now.
In March 2004, a law was enacted that prohibits “the wearing of signs or outfits by which students ostensibly show a religious affiliation” in schools. This includes sizeable crosses, Jewish kippas, and Islamic headscarves. Unlike headscarves, abayas lacked an outright ban until this point.
In November of the preceding year, the education ministry had already issued a circular addressing this matter. The abaya was classified alongside items like bandanas and long skirts, which could be banned if worn to conspicuously display a religious affiliation.
