France has enforced a strict ban on religious signs in state schools since 19th century laws removed any traditional Catholic influence from public education.
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France to Ban Muslim Abaya Dress in State Schools
Headline from Voice of America ·
Newest
France banning Islamic abaya robes in schools, calling them an attempt to convert others to Islam
French authorities are to ban the wearing in school of abaya dresses worn by some Muslim women, the education minister said Sunday, arguing the garment violated France's strict secular laws in education.
Saudi Arabian woman Manahel al-Otaibi walks on a Riyadh street in 2019 without the customary body-shrouding abaya - Copyright AFP/File FAYEZ NURELDINEFrench authorities are to ban the wearing in school of abaya dresses worn by some Muslim women, the education minister said Sunday, arguing the garmen…
France has enforced a strict ban on religious signs in state schools since 19th century laws removed any traditional Catholic influence from public education.
France will ban schoolchildren from wearing abayas ahead of the upcoming academic year, the government has said, the latest in a series of contentious restrictions in the country on clothing associated with Muslims.
The French government's decision to ban schoolgirls wearing abayas -- long, flowing dresses of Middle Eastern origin -- has opened a fresh debate about the country's secular laws and the treatment of…
Religious symbols are already banned in French schools, but the abaya — a loosefitting robe worn by some Muslim women — was in a gray area. Critics called the measure discriminatory.
The loose-fitting, full length dresses are sometimes worn by Muslim women. The education minister stressed the religion of school pupils should not be identified at sight.
