Schools in France send dozens of Muslim girls home for wearing abayas

Paris [France], September 6: French public schools have sent dozens of girls home for refusing to remove their abayas - long, loose-fitting robes worn by some Muslim women and girls - on the first day of the school year, according to the country's Education Minister.
Defying a ban on the garment seen as a religious symbol, nearly 300 girls showed up on Monday morning wearing abayas.
Most agreed to change out of the robe, but 67 refused and were sent home.
The French government announced last month it was banning the abaya in schools, saying it broke the rules on secularism in education that have already seen headscarves forbidden on the grounds they constitute a display of religious affiliation.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation