The Council of State of France today rejected a petition presented by an association that defends the rights of the Muslim community to repeal the ban in schools on the abaya, a garment that covers the body of women, as well as the qamis, its male counterpart, which had been decreed by the Government for this course.
The council has appealed for its decision to the legislation that guarantees secularism in the educational system: “The law prohibits, within public educational establishments, the use by students of posters or clothing that conspicuously demonstrate, either by themselves or by their behavior, their affiliation to a religion.”
According to the council, the ban on the abaya decreed by the Government “does not affect” the “right to private life, freedom of religion, the right to education and respect for the best interests of the child or the principle of non-discrimination.” ”. The veto of these garments, he added, “does not seriously and manifestly illegally violate a fundamental freedom.” The judge of the Council of State also indicated that the use of this garment “is part of a logic of religious affirmation, as can be seen from the observations made during the dialogues held with the students.”
The ruling by the French high administrative court was prompted by a petition from the association Action Droits des Musulmans (Action Rights of Muslims) (ADM), which denounced that the ban on girls wearing the abaya in schools was both “an attack to education” and to “the private life” of the students. The association that denounces the ban argued that the ban on the clothing “violates the rights of the child, since it is mainly aimed at children who are presumed Muslim, thus creating a risk of ethnic profiling in schools.”
The debate centers on whether the abaya can be considered a religious garment. The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Vincent Brengarth, argued that the abaya “cannot be considered a religious garment, but rather a traditional one.” On the other hand, the Ministry of Education considers that the garment “immediately identifies the wearer as belonging to the Muslim religion.” The Council of State recalled that “the law prohibits students from wearing signs or clothing that ostensibly express, by themselves or through the student’s behavior, belief in a religion.” Some 300 students, out of a total of 12 million, wore an abaya on the first day.
