- French Court Upholds Ban on Muslim Over-Garments in Schools
- Argument That Ban Is Discriminatory and Incites Hatred Rejected
- Controversy Surrounds Ban on Abaya and Qamis in Schools
France’s highest 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.
Last month, President Emmanuel Macron officially banned the abaya in schools for violating secularism.
The Muslim headscarf has already been prohibited because it constitutes a religious affiliation display.
An association representing Muslims lodged a petition with the State Council, France’s highest court for complaints against state authorities, seeking an injunction against the ban on the abaya and its male equivalent, the qamis.
A Muslim group claims that the ban could increase the risk of discrimination.
The association stated that the ban was discriminatory and could incite hostility and profiling against Muslims.
However, following a two-day review of the petition filed by the Action for the Rights of Muslims (ADM), the State Council rejected the arguments.
It was stated that donning the abaya “follows the logic of religious affirmation” and that the decision was based on French law prohibiting the wearing of visible religious symbols in schools.
“No significant harm”
The government stated that the ban did not cause “serious or illegal harm to the respect for personal lives, freedom of religion, the right to education, the well-being of children or the principle of nondiscrimination.”
France’s Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), established to represent Muslims before the government, had warned that banning the abaya could create “an elevated risk of discrimination” and said it was contemplating filing its complaint with the State Council before the ruling.
Lack of “a clear definition of this garment creates ambiguity and legal uncertainty.”
ADM attorney Vincent Brengarth argued in court that the abaya is a traditional garment, not religious.
In addition, he claimed that the government was pursuing political advantage through the ban.
Sihem Zine, the president of the ADM, deemed the rule “sexist” because it targets females and Arabs. The education ministry claimed that the abaya “immediately identifiable as Muslim” violated France’s secular ethos.
French schools sent scores of girls home on the first day of school for refusing to remove their abayas.
Nearly 300 schoolgirls disobeyed the prohibition, according to Education Minister Gabriel Attal.
Also 67 individuals refused to alter their attire and were sent home, he said.
The State Council overturned a prohibition on the burkini in a French Riviera resort in 2016, stating that it did not perceive any threat to public order posed by the long bathing suit worn by some Muslim women.
According to official estimates, approximately 10% of France’s 67 million citizens are Muslim. Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia—French dependencies until the second part of the 20th century—have the most immigrants.
