At least 67 college students had been denied entry to colleges after they refused to take away their abayas following a controversial ban on the saggy, modest costume in France.
Defying a ban on the costume – worn by ladies in a number of Arab, Middle Eastern and North African international locations – almost 300 women confirmed up on Monday morning sporting an abaya, Education Minister Gabriel Attal advised an area broadcaster Tuesday.
Most agreed to vary out of the costume, however 67 refused and had been despatched dwelling, he claimed, including, “I do not want to be able to identify students’ religion in schools by looking at their outfit.”
The authorities introduced the controversial ban on the abaya in faculties final month, claiming it broke France’s strict model of secularism, also called “laicite,” which has already seen Muslim headscarves banned.
The transfer to ban abaya drew criticism and mock from rights and non secular minority teams however was applauded by French conservatives.
The left has accused the federal government of centrist President Emmanuel Macron of attempting with the abaya ban to compete with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and shifting additional to the precise.
Clementine Autain, a lawmaker for the hard-left France Insoumise, criticized what she known as the “clothes police” and a transfer “characteristic of an obsessional rejection of Muslims.”
Abdallah Zekri, vice-chair of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), made the same level, saying Attal’s resolution was misguided.
“The abaya is not religious attire, it’s a type of fashion,” he advised BFM TV.
Meanwhile, President Macron, who backed final week’s resolution to ban abaya and kameez, a sort of ankle-length shirt for males, stated in an interview Monday {that a} distinctive apparel could possibly be adopted in faculties, akin to a pair of denims, a t-shirt, and a jacket.
The controversial transfer sparked a backlash in opposition to the federal government, which has been criticized in recent times for concentrating on Muslims with statements and insurance policies, together with raids on mosques and charitable foundations, and an “anti-separatism” regulation that imposes broad restrictions on the neighborhood.
Earlier on Friday, Vincent Brengarth, the lawyer for the Muslim Rights Action (ADM), stated on X that they filed an attraction in opposition to the ban on the Council of State for violating “several fundamental freedoms.”
The French prime court docket was set to start inspecting the case Tuesday afternoon.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
