The French government has said students at public schools will not be allowed to wear abayas, long, loose skirts like some Muslim women.
Gabriel Attal, Minister of National Education, described the abaya as a “religious gesture, intended to test the republic’s resistance to the secular mosque that schools must establish”.
“When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them,” Attal said.
“I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools.”
The minister made this known on Sunday, during an interview with France’s TF1 TV.
He said he would give clear rules on how schools should proceed with the ban, adding that “secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school”.
France has a strict ban on religious signs in state schools and government buildings, arguing that they violate secular laws.
Traditional Catholic influence has long been removed from public education while head scarves have been banned as far back as 2004.
In 2010, the government also passed a ban on full-face veils, a move that drew heavy criticism from its Muslim community.
The new rule on abayas is expected to take effect from September 4 when the fresh school year starts in France.
