The president of Turkey, Racip Erdogan, is leading the open campaign in some Arab countries against the decision of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to ban the use of the “Abaya” by Muslim schoolgirls, due to the secular nature of the country.
The “Abaya” is a traditional female dress, which consists of a long, wide garment that covers the body. Its use is common in Arab countries, the Arabian Gulf and the Maghreb.
Macron justifies his decision by the fact that in France religion does not have any decision-making power, as a secular country. And for this reason, in educational establishments you cannot display an item that shows the religion of the wearer.
Some French Muslim families had approached the Council of State to annul Macron's decision, but this higher body has ratified it. School girls and young women have not been able to wear the Abaya since the beginning of last August.
In the Gulf countries, the Abaya is not primarily a religious dress. Even in Iran it is not mandatory. But in practice Arab families prefer that their daughters dress in it.
The Abaya responds to the imperative of modesty that in the Arab world is directed towards the female population. Islam supports it and that is why it must be taken into account. As a consequence of Macron's decision, Muslim schoolgirls have replaced the Abaya with long tunics that reach to the feet. The Abaya is not the Burka or the Tchador.
“The decision of the president, Macron, is outrageous,” stressed the Arab writer, Isa Sané. Some historians have recalled that the Abaya already existed in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, 4000 years ago.
In Dubai, the Abaya is considered a luxury dress
At the princely wedding of Hussein, the crown prince of Jordan, and his wife, the architect Rajwa Al Saif, on June 1, 2023 in Amman, she wore a stylized white abaya. Likewise, many participants and women present at the wedding dress in this way, mostly in white and with traditional patterns, to celebrate the new spouses
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