Ban on the abaya: the UN secretary general implicitly compares France to Islamist countries

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Gutterres, delivered a long speech Tuesday from the podium for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. In the presence of Volodymyr Zelensky, he spoke in particular of the situation in Ukraine, but also in Nagorno-Karabakh. He also spoke of equality between women and men throughout the world, and took the opportunity to criticize France in its choice to ban the wearing of the abaya in public schools, through a circular from the minister of National Education Gabriel Attal.

In this plea for equality, Antonio Guterres declared: “‘We the people’ does not mean ‘we the men’. Women still expect equal opportunities and salaries, equality before the law, full valuation of their work and consideration of their opinions” Then he spoke of the attacks on women's rights which, according to him, hinder this global equality: “Across the world, women’s rights, including sexual and reproductive rights, are being reduced or even eliminated, and their freedoms restricted.”

Also read: Antonio Guterres: “For the moment, peace in Ukraine is not possible, both parties believe that victory is within their reach”

The UN Secretary General then mentioned the back-to-school controversy in France, without alluding to it directly: “In some countries, women and girls are punished because they wear too many clothes. In others, because they don't wear enough. » A way of putting back to back the countries governed by Islamist regimes imposing the wearing of the hijab or the abaya, under the control of the moral police, and the French decision to prohibit the wearing of ostentatious religious symbols in certain places like public schools.

A speech substantially identical to that given by several left-wing leaders since the start of the school year. The rebellious Manuel Bompard declared on CNews and Europe 1 on September 6: “I denounce the clothing police in Iran and I denounce the clothing police everywhere. Women in Iran must have the opportunity to dress as they wish, but in France too.

Guterres then continued: “Thanks to generations of women’s rights activists, times are changing. From sports fields to schools to public squares, girls and women are challenging patriarchy and triumphing. I am at their side.”

The ban on the abaya in France had sparked reactions abroad, notably in Turkey where many media outlets condemned the French decision. “Total attack on Islam,” the daily Yeni Safak wrote on August 29, painting France as an “Islamophobic fortress” and maintaining that half of the country's mosques had been closed since Emmanuel came to power. Macron. Türkiye, for his part, describes the decision of the Council of State to validate the ban on the wearing of the abaya as “fascist”.