French Government Declares Ban on Abaya Usage in Public Schools

 The French Government has announced a ban on abaya wearing in state owned schools. While addressing the press, French national education minister Gabriel Attal stated that the Abaya garment worn by Muslim females was testing France's secular values and had no place in schools. In his words: "Our schools are being tested. These last few months, violations of our secular rules have considerably increased, particularly with regard to the wearing of religious clothing such as abayas or qamis which have appeared — and remained — in some establishments."

The ban is set to take effect from the next academic calendar and French authorities are currently watching over 500 schools for signs pupils could be violating the newly announced ban on Abaya. A prior law in March 2004 had banned "the wearing of signs or outfits by which students ostensibly show a religious affiliation” in schools. The announcement of an Abaya ban is the first major policy decision by Mr Attal, who was in July 2023, appointed France's education minister by President Emmanuel Macron at the age of 34.