麻豆社

On Monday, French conservatives applauded the government's decision to ban students from wearing the abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools.

France, which has enforced a strict ban on religious symbols in state schools for over a century, has struggled to find balance in guideline updates as its Muslim population has grown.

The country's education minister said banning the abaya was part of measures of to curb influence of radical Islam in schools.

Newsday heard from a French woman - we'll call her Chayma as she prefers not to be identified - who recently left France for another European country, partly because she felt discriminated against as a Muslim in France.

"Radicalisation has nothing to do with abaya... it's when you ostracise people and make them feel like aliens in their own country."

(Pic: Students wearing the abaya in a classroom; Credit: AFP)