Abayas and qamis officially banned at school

2023-08-31 21:03:00

Via a note sent by Gabriel Attal on the eve of the pre-re-entry of teachers, the heads of establishments became aware of this new provision.

By HR with AFP The abaya is officially banned at school, as is the qamis. © Apaydin Alain / Apaydin Alain/ABACA Published on 08/31/2023 at 9:03 p.m.

Gabriel Attal officially warned the heads of establishments of the change in regulations on abayas and qamis. These clothes are now formally prohibited since a memo sent by the ministry of rue de Grenelle.

“I was able to measure how much the absence of a clear directive with regard to the abaya and the qamis, outfits that did not respect the 2004 law, placed you in a difficult situation on the ground”, writes Gabriel Attal in an email. addressed Thursday to the heads of establishments and of which the AFP obtained a copy. The new minister announced on Sunday the banning of this long traditional dress covering the body worn by certain Muslim students. The new rule also concerns the wearing of qamis, the male version of this garment.

“I have an absolute duty to always be by your side, in support in the face of headwinds, pressures, attempts at interference, which are so many breaches in the republican pact”, continued Mr. Attal. memo published in the Official Bulletin, it is written that “in some establishments, the rise in power of wearing abaya or qamis type outfits has given rise to a large number of questions about what to do. These questions call for a clear and unified response from the educational institution throughout the territory”.

Functional protection for Ile-de-France agents

Based on the law of March 15, 2004, “the wearing of such outfits, which ostensibly manifests a religious affiliation in the school environment, cannot be tolerated there”, says the note. “At the end of a dialogue with the student, if the latter refuses to give it up within the school establishment or during school activities, a disciplinary procedure must be initiated”, continues the text. Attal accompanied his email with a letter to students and their families, recalling the principles of secularism at school.

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“I want to remind you that secularism is not opposed to any religion and that the rules are the same for everyone”, it is written. Whether in the email addressed to the heads of establishments or in the letter to parents, Gabriel Attal insists on “dialogue”. This phase of dialogue, which “cannot be likened to any + negotiation +, is fundamental” but can lead in the event of refusal of the student to a “disciplinary sanction”, recalls the National Education.

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The president of Île-de-France Valérie Pécresse, who manages the 469 public high schools in the region, has promised functional protection to all her agents who would be “threatened” or “attacked” to enforce the ban on the wearing of the ‘abaya or qamis at the start of the school year. “The strict application of the 2004 law (which prohibits conspicuous religious symbols in school, editor’s note) will not be without causing certain difficulties in certain establishments”, warned the elected on the right on the sidelines of a press briefing on Ile-de-France high schools, on the occasion of the start of the school year.