A 15-year-old Muslim girl in France was sent home from school for wearing a long black skirt after it was deemed a violation of the country’s ban on religious clothing in state schools. The girl, named as Sarah K, was sent home twice in one month from the Léo Lagrange High School in the eastern town of Charleville-Mézières. According to a local education official, Patrice Dutot, the girl was “asked to come back with neutral clothing and it seems her father did not want the pupil to return to school.” Sarah K told local newspaper L’Ardennais that her skirt was “nothing special, it’s very simple, there’s nothing conspicuous. There’s no religious sign at all.” France’s controversial 2004 ban on religious symbols and clothing in public schools covers all “ostentatious signs of religion”, including the Jewish yarmulke, Christian crosses, Muslim veils and Sikh turbans. However, the ban is perceived by many to disproportionately target the Islamic veil, to the point where it is often referred to as the “French veil ban” in international media. It is understood that Sarah K was not wearing a headscarf when she was sent home, having…
