French schools' ban on abayas and headscarves is supposedly about secularism − but it sends a powerful message about who 'belongs' in French culture
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Friday, September 29, 2023
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Education Minister Gabriel Attal cited “laïcité,” or French secularism, as the reason for the ban.
Key Points:
- Education Minister Gabriel Attal cited “laïcité,” or French secularism, as the reason for the ban.
- Many critics argue that the abaya is a cultural garment, not a religious one, and should be allowed under laïcité.
- My ethnographic research in French schools, where secularism debates are particularly heated, suggests that the abaya ban and the earlier “headscarf law” aren’t really about defending laïcité.
‘Catho-laïcité’
- Yet the faith still has a powerful influence upon French culture.
- Moreover, these get flagged as religious symbols, putting them in conflict with laïcité in ways that Catholic symbols avoid.
- Rather than neutral secularism, “laïcité” can represent a particular, Catholic-infused French identity that views religious or cultural “others” with suspicion.
Santa Claus in class
- In the lead-up to Christmas, schools often celebrate with decorations, concerts and even visits from Santa Claus – activities defended as cultural rather than religious.
- More recently, a mayor in northern France issued an official authorization for Santa Claus to park on rooftops, publicly declaring that Santa would be “within the law” during his visit that season.
- Local public elementary school students were later surprised with a video of Santa Claus and his elves depositing gifts at their school.
Fish, fowl and halal
- French school cafeterias often serve fish on Fridays, a Catholic tradition, but debates have raged over offering halal food or other substitutes.
- In 2015, a town in central France decided to stop providing substitutes for pork, which is forbidden in Muslim and Jewish tradition, in its school cafeterias.
- The following year, a middle school in Bordeaux began providing occasional halal meals, as well as nonhalal alternatives.
Other options
- Families seeking alternative education options often turn to France’s state-funded private schools, which are allowed to offer optional religious education but must otherwise follow the national curriculum and accept students of any faith.
- Options for state-funded private Muslim schools, on the other hand – a focus of my research – are sparse.
Future consequences
- The 2004 headscarf law, however, seems to have harmed Muslim girls’ educational success.
- Moreover, the study’s authors argue that this disparity increased the employment gap between Muslim and non-Muslim women.
- Taking a closer look at France’s education system, I argue, shows that the abaya ban isn’t really about laïcité.