French schools send home girls wearing banned abaya robe

A number of schoolgirls in France have been sent home, after arriving wearing the abaya – a long Muslim robe which was banned from schools in the country last week.

According to official figures, 298 girls - mainly aged 15 or more - turned up at school in the banned garment, and while most agreed to change and were allowed to attend classes, 67 girls refused to comply and were sent home.

It comes after the education minister announced that pupils would be banned from wearing the loose-fitting full-length robes worn by some Muslim women in France's state-run schools, as part of the nation’s strict ban on religious signs in state schools and government buildings, arguing that they violate secular laws.