The education minister says female Muslim students will not be allowed to wear the loose-fitting robe.

Pupils will be banned from wearing abayas, loose-fitting full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in France’s state-run schools, the education minister has said.

The rule will be applied as soon as the new school year starts on 4 September.

France has a strict ban on religious signs in state schools and government buildings, arguing that they violate secular laws.

Wearing a headscarf has been banned since 2004 in state-run schools.

  • CoderKat@lemm.eeEnglish
    225·
    1 year ago

    Especially when they’re kids. People should be able to wear whatever they want. But kids don’t often get to choose what they want. They’re often at the mercy of what their parents want and that’s it.

    There’s also something to be said about pressure from family members. Even if the kid chose to wear something, did they really do so out of their own free will? Or because their parents said they’ll burn in hell for all eternity if they don’t?

    And it’s not like we’re talking about something like simple taste in clothing or mild culture differences. We’re talking about clothes that are drenched in misogyny. It’s not about literal clothing in a vacuum, but rather what those clothes imply about women as a whole.

    • SulaymanF@lemmy.worldEnglish
      126·
      1 year ago

      Then you’re just replacing the oppressor with the state.

      Let children wear what they want.

      • Kecessa@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        112·
        1 year ago

        What if their community’s pressure is the reason why they wear certain types of clothing?

        • glassware@lemmy.worldEnglish
          11·
          1 year ago

          This is the only reason why anyone wears any particular type of clothing. There is no style of clothing that it objectively makes sense to wear.

          • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.worldEnglish
            43·
            1 year ago

            We’re talking about children. They don’t have choice.

            And we see from Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others, that families can and will often disown you and treat you like shit over it.

            I’m in agreement with France here. They’re very consistent. Go to a state school? Keep religious displays out of it, full stop.

              • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.worldEnglish
                3·
                1 year ago

                Who says what I want is for kids to be able to choose to wear literally anything they want?

                I was pointing out that kids don’t wear these out of choice, so it’s silly to act like the government is oppressing the kids by banning them.

                I’m all for France aggressively separating religion and state institutions.