CNN —Public schools in France have been turning away students for breaking a new national ban on the abaya, a long, robe-like garment often worn by Muslim women, as a rights group filed an appeal against the prohibition.
A total of 67 girls returned home rather than remove their abayas, Education Minister Gabriel Attal told CNN affiliate BFMTV on Tuesday.
The ban has its legal foundation in a law passed in 2004 banning the wearing of “conspicuous” religious symbols in schools.
“They say that the abaya is a religious dress, but it’s not at all, it’s not a religious dress, it’s a traditional dress, it’s a dress that all girls wear, both veiled and non-veiled, and so it’s a bit of a problem,” she said.
French President Emmanuel Macron has defended the ban, saying it is not “stigmatizing” anyone but “people who push the abaya” are.
Persons:
Gabriel Attal, Attal, Musulmans, Vincent Brengarth, ”, Stephane Mahe, Brengarth, Nabil Boudi, it’s, Luke, Julie, Denis, Emmanuel Macron, Hugo Travers, Macron
Organizations:
CNN — Public, CNN, BFMTV, State Council, Reuters, ADM, Agence, France Presse
Locations:
France, France’s, Nantes, Villette, Lyon, Paris, Seine