(Local) The French education minister says it is, but France’s Muslim Council says it isn’t. France’s latest clothing dispute has settled on the abaya — a long, loose robe or dress — and whether it is or is not an item of religious clothing.
But the dispute is not a mere matter of fashion — France’s secularism laws mean that symbols of religion cannot be worn in schools and certain other public spaces.
France’s minister of education, Pap Ndiaye, recently met with the heads of French school districts (academies) and encouraged them to be more strict in enforcing secularism in schools.
In his statements, Ndiaye added that “the abaya was clearly implicated” in a directive sent out in November 2022 that detailed methods for schools to better enforce secularism.
