This Friday, March 15, we commemorate the anniversary of a pillar of French secularism: the law of March 15, 2004 which prohibits the wearing of signs or outfits ostensibly demonstrating religious affiliation in public schools. Twenty years later, the question of educational secularism still remains relevant.
2 mins
The black scarf is tied, tight, Aminata hastened to cover her hair, having just left her Parisian high school. She was not born when the law was promulgated in 2004. Today, the high school student sees the ban on the headscarf at school as a punishment: “ I see it as a punishment, because when you put on a bandana, something long, you have committed a crime. That, for me, personally, hurts my education a little, it doesn’t make me want to come to school. It’s annoying, I skip school sometimes. »
Carole Zerbib is a high school principal and member of the secularism observatory, she reacts to the high school student’s comments: “ It bothers me that students can find this law stigmatizing. And it’s good that there is something wrong with the way we explained things. And I also believe that we should explain to families that, from the moment you enroll your child in the Republic school, you also accept all of its principles and values. Education is of course a right in Francebut we must also accept this republican model which, ultimately, is only there to guarantee the freedom of everyone. »
The head of the establishment insists on another point: teachers must be better trained to defend secularism among their students.
The 2004 law dealt with religious attire. There was, and we saw it last year, with the increasingly massive appearance of the abaya. But the question of religious attire is a bit like the tip of the iceberg. What we have to face more and more today is the contestation of teaching. The questioning of historical facts.
Carole Zerbib (member of the SNPDEN-UNSA Secularism Observatory)
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