He French Council of Statethe highest administrative authority in the country, has validated this Thursday the ban on the abaya, the long female robe characteristic of some Islamic countries. The Government prohibited it last week in schools and institutes, considering that it is a religious sign that violates the principle of secularism, one of the pillars of the Republic. For this reason, to prevent religion from interfering with teaching, the veil was prohibited in schools in 2004.
The Council of State considers that this prohibition does not violate any fundamental right, as the association for the rights of Muslims denounced, which requested the suspension of the measure. The Council of Muslims of France defends that this garment does not have a religious connotation, but culturaland prohibiting it means stigmatize to the young women who wear it.
With the veil there was never any doubt, because it was always clear that had a religious component, but the abaya has generated controversy. Classes began on Monday, with an eye on this garment. In fact, there are doubts about how to define it. Many of the girls who wear it define it as “kimono”.
Prohibiting this clothing “does not constitute a serious and manifestly illegal violation of the right to respect for private life, freedom of worship, the right to education and respect for the best interest of the minor or the principle of non-discrimination”, says the Council , which confirms that wearing this garment in a school does “inscribe within a logic of religious affirmation”, as can be deduced “from the dialogues held with the students”.
According to data from the Ministry of Education, last Monday, ‘back to school’ day, only a few 300 girls they went with abaya to a class of about 12 million students. Within the centers themselves there are division and some educators believe that it is a smokescreen to hide the problems they have in the classroomsuch as lack of staff.