Education Minister Gabriel Atal announced that starting Monday, students will not be allowed to wear Islamic clothing, namely the abaya or kameez, in classrooms. According to the prime minister, clothing is a political attack on secularism.
But behind the gown and shirt, he noted, “there are little girls and boys and entire families. People you have to have a conversation with and a pedagogy.” mti writes.
Gabriel Atal added that those affected will be received by school principals so that they can understand the new rule and the reason for it. He added that secularization is one of the core values of education in the French Republic.
He added that the government will send a circular to public education institutions explaining the new rule, proposals and drafting guidelines for dialogue. Another circular should be sent by the principals of the schools to the affected families.
Islamic dress is a topic of constant debate
In France, controversy over Islamic clothing erupts regularly, as laws strictly regulate the wearing of religious symbols in order to achieve secularization, that is, the separation of state and religion. It is for this reason that, in French schools, for example, since 2004, the wearing of religious symbols has been prohibited, for example, except for the Islamic headscarf, the cross and the kippah are prohibited. The government, the Communists and the Socialists see the regulation as an extension of the 2004 law and support it, but the radical left and the Green Party want to challenge it in the State Council.
It is for this reason that the wearing of the abaya has been banned in French public schools
France’s education minister has announced that public schools will ban female students from wearing the abaya, the long, loose-fitting cloak worn by some Muslim women. The rule applies from the start of the new academic year on September 4.
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