Court backs French abaya Muslim dress ban in schools

(AFP) France’s top administrative court on Thursday upheld a government ban on traditional over-garments worn by some Muslim women in schools and rejected complaints it was discriminatory and could incite hatred.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government announced last month it was banning the abaya in schools as it broke the rules on secularism in education.

Muslim headscarves have already [been] banned on the ground that they constitute a display of religious affiliation.

An association representing Muslims filed a motion with the State Council, France’s highest court for complaints against state authorities, for an injunction against the ban on the abaya and the qamis, its equivalent dress for men.

Read more.