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FRANCE: Ban on Muslim hijab

01 September 1994

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The French government banned Muslim girls from wearing head scarves - the hijab - to state schools during September. The Education Minister, Francois Bayrou, issued instructions to all state schools to enforce the ban immediately. The decision, which was greeted with alarm by several French Muslim associations, places on a legal footing a decision that was less formally introduced in 1989. Then, schools were encouraged to "persuade" schoolgirls from wearing the headscarves. This "persuasion" resulted in a large rise in the number of young Muslim women wearing them. Shortly after the announcement about 300 people took part in a march in support of 24 women students from the Saint Exupery school in Paris.

The ban is perceived by many Muslims as an intensification of the anti-Arab hysteria that has swept France over the last few years. This view is supported by a spate of police shootings, raids and deportations; over 2000 Muslims were deported from France in 1993. A statement by the Muslim associations warned that the ban would lead to many Muslim families withdrawing their children from state schools. Critics believe that this is exactly what the French government would like to see happen.

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