French schools send dozens of Muslim girls home for wearing Islamic abayas
- Last month, France said it was banning the abaya in schools, saying it broke rules on secularism in education that have already seen Muslim headscarves banned
- In 2004, France banned wearing of signs or outfits with a religious affiliation in schools, including Christian crosses, Jewish kippas and Islamic headscarves
French schools sent dozens of girls home for refusing to remove their abayas – an overgarment from the shoulders to the feet worn by Muslim women – on the first day of the school year, a government minister said on Tuesday.
Defying a ban on the Muslim dress, nearly 300 girls showed up on Monday morning wearing an abaya, Gabriel Attal told the BFM broadcaster.
Most agreed to change out of the dress, but 67 refused and were sent home, he said.
The government announced last month it was banning the abaya in schools, saying it broke the rules on secularism in education that have already seen Muslim headscarves banned on the grounds they constitute a display of religious affiliation.
The move gladdened the political right but the hard-left argued it represented an affront to civil liberties.
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France's secular war: Muslim abaya dress banned in state schools
Attal said the girls refused entry were given a letter addressed to their families saying that “secularism is not a constraint, it is a liberty”.