According to Sky News, female students will no longer be permitted to dress in the flowy abaya that some Muslim women prefer.
Nearly 20 years have passed since France forbade head coverings in public schools.
The abaya, a lengthy, loose-fitting dress worn by some Muslim women, will no longer be permitted in French public schools, the media outlet reports.
Prior to the start of the new academic year at the beginning of September, the French education minister made the ban official on Sunday.
Since 2004, students in France are not permitted to wear headscarves in public schools due to a strict ban on religious symbols.
Gabriel Attal, France’s minister of education, told TF1 TV that entering a classroom shouldn’t allow one to infer a student’s religion from the way they look.
“I have decided that abayas are no longer permitted in educational settings.
Women frequently wear the abaya in parts of the Arabian Peninsula, the majority of the Middle East, and occasionally in North Africa. It is typically described as a loose over-garment that resembles a robe.
The abaya’s status as a religious symbol, however, is up for debate.
The abaya is a garment that can “take on a possible religious character” even though it is not an explicitly religious symbol, according to former education minister Pap Ndiaye, who made this observation late last year.
This year, the discussion gained more ground.
The abaya is “mistaken” by some as a symbol of Muslim religion, according to France’s Council of Muslim Worship.
The group claimed in a statement released in June that “any article of clothing is not a religious sign in itself.”
“You only need to travel through Muslim-majority countries to realize that the citizens of these countries, of all faiths, are indistinguishable based on the clothes they wear,” it continued.
2010 saw France outlaw full-face veils in public, which infuriated some in the country’s five million-strong Muslim population.
Strong secular laws govern the nation, prohibiting displays of religion in public spaces.
The laws governing schools were initially intended to eliminate any traditional Catholic influence from public education, but they have since been updated to include other religions.
The wearing of the Jewish kippah, “oversized” crosses, and other religious symbols is prohibited in public schools.
