French authorities are to ban the wearing in school of abaya dresses worn by some Muslim women. On Sunday, the education minister in France argued that the garment violated France's strict secular laws in education. Education Minister Gabriel Attal said that he would give clear rules at the national level to school heads ahead of the return to classes nationwide from September 4 The move comes after months of debate over the wearing of abayas in French schools, where women have long been banned from wearing the Islamic headscarf. The right and far-right had pushed for the ban, which the left argued would encroach on civil liberties. There have been reports of abayas being increasingly worn in schools and tensions within schools over the issue between teachers and parents.
#France #Abayas #GabrielAttal #FranceEducationMinister
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#France #Abayas #GabrielAttal #FranceEducationMinister
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00:00 French authorities are about to issue a ban on wearing abaya dresses in schools.
00:07 Abaya dresses are generally worn by Muslim women.
00:11 On Sunday, the education minister in France argued that the government violated France's
00:16 strict secular laws in education.
00:19 Education minister Gabriel Attal said that he would give clear rules at the national
00:23 level to school heads ahead of the return to classes nationwide from September 4.
00:28 The move comes after months of debate over the wearing of abayas in French schools, where
00:33 women have long been banned from wearing the Islamic headscarf.
00:38 The right and far-right had pushed for the ban, which the left argued would encroach
00:42 on civil liberties.
00:43 There have been reports of abayas being increasingly worn in schools, and tensions are on the rise
00:49 within schools over the issue between teachers and parents.
00:53 Attal described the abaya as a religious gesture aimed at testing the resistance of the republic
00:59 toward the secular sanctuary that schools must constitute.
01:03 He claimed that secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school.
01:08 He pointed out that when one enters a classroom, one must not be able to identify the religion
01:13 of the students by looking at them.
01:15 A law of March 2004 banned the wearing of signs or outfits by which students clearly
01:21 show a religious affiliation in schools.
01:23 This includes large crosses, Jewish kippahs and Islamic headscarves.
01:27 However, unlike a headscarf, an abaya is a long, baggy garment worn to comply with Islamic
01:33 beliefs on more distress.
01:35 Previously, it was in a grey area and had faced no outright ban until now.
01:40 But the education ministry had already issued a circular on the issue in November last year.
01:45 It described the abaya as one of a group of items of clothing whose wearing could be banned
01:50 if they were worn in a manner as to openly display a religious affiliation.
01:55 The circular put bandanas and long skirts in the same category.
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