French education minister orders ban on Islamic abayas in schools

Following the recent ban imposed by the French Authorities, it will no longer be possible for Muslim women to wear an abaya at school from September 4.

Education Minister Gabriel Attal has issued rules at the national level to school heads ahead of the return to classes nationwide.

The move comes after months of debate over the wearing of abayas in French schools, where women have long been banned from wearing the Islamic headscarf.

According to the Left-Wing opposition in France, Attal’s announcement was “unconstitutional” and against the founding principles of France’s secular values, being only symptomatic of the government’s “obsessive rejection of Muslims”.