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France is slated to ban an Islamic garment traditionally worn by some Muslin women from its state-run schools, according to the French education minister.<\/p>\n
Education Minister Gabriel Attal said during an interview with French TV channel TF1 that the abaya \u2014\u00a0the\u00a0full-length robes worn by some Muslim women \u2014 will be banned from schools, Reuters<\/a> reported. This is just the latest steps the French government has taken in curtailing Islamic dress in public.<\/p>\n \u201cI have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools,\u201d Attal said in the interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you walk into a classroom, you shouldn\u2019t be able to identify the pupils\u2019 religion just by looking at them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In 2004, France banned students from wearing headscarves in its schools, as well as other religious symbols, including large-crosses and Jewish kippahs. It also banned people from wearing face veils in public in 2011.<\/p>\n The country has had a decades-long battle with secularism, as Muslim headscarves took center stage<\/a> during France\u2019s latest presidential campaign season. French President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s rival in the 2022 election campaigned on banning headscarves from the country all-together, prompting outrage from Muslim women who questioned why the headscarf was being discussed in politics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media<\/a> Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n