Nearly 300 French Female Students Still Wear Abayas to School
Paris, MINA – A number of female students in France continue to wear abayas on the first day of school on Monday. There are also schools that decide to send them home because they don’t want to change their abayas when they come to class, Republika Online reported.
French Education Minister Gabriel Attal has banned female students from wearing abayas in public schools because they are considered Muslim clothing. Abaya is a long garment that covers the shoulders to the feet.
However, ignoring the ban on wearing abayas, nearly 300 female students came to their school wearing abayas. That was Attal’s statement to BFM TV.
“Most of them finally agreed to change their clothes while the other 67 refused and were asked to go home,” said Attal as reported by the Straits Times on Tuesday.
He stated that female students who refused to change their abayas were given letters addressed to their parents.
The letter said, “Secularism is not an obstacle but freedom.” If they return to school still wearing abayas, Attal said, there will be conversations with students and their families.
Not long ago, the government announced a ban on the use of abayas in public schools. The government argued that the abaya is considered Muslim clothing, a secular education rule that applies in France.
Previously, France also banned female public school students from wearing the hijab. Far-right groups welcome such an arrangement. However, left-wing groups consider such regulations to be fair to shackle civil liberties.
At midnight Monday, President Emmanuel Macron defended the controversial policy. Furthermore, he accused a minority group in France of hijacking religion and opposing the values of secularism that prevail in this country.
Macron stated that this caused bad events. He gave an example, three years ago a hunter named Samuel Paty was killed because he showed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad during a civil education lesson.
An association representing France’s Muslim community submitted a motion against the government’s ban on female students wearing abayas. The Motion for Action on the Rights of Muslims is planned to be reviewed on Tuesday local time. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
