Morocco: French School in Rabat Bans Abayas, Sparking Controversy

The decision of the French Minister of National Education, Gabriel Attal, to ban the wearing of the abaya in schools and high schools is already being applied in the French mission schools in Morocco. The Lycée Descartes (Rabat) has refused to admit Muslim students wearing an abaya or long clothes to class, reports the Arabic-language daily Al Akhbar. This has provoked the anger of the parents of students who have written to Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, to call on him to intervene so that the registration fees paid at the start of the school year are refunded.

According to their explanations, the school only announced this decision after the payment of the registration fees. The decision taken by the Lycée Descartes violates the law, denounced Noureddine Akkouri, president of the Federation of Parents’ Associations in Morocco. According to him, schools from foreign missions cannot take measures that go against the orientation of the State. A point of view that a source at Hespress does not share. "The French mission schools in Morocco have been known for many years not to accept the wearing of the veil or Islamic clothing, a decision that was reinforced in 2004 in all these schools around the world," explains the source in the same media, stating that one of the conditions for enrollment in these establishments is not to wear the veil or "Islamic" clothing inside the school.

According to the law of March 15, 2004, "in public schools, colleges and high schools, the wearing of signs or outfits by which students overtly manifest a religious affiliation is prohibited."