Since 2004, the wearing of the veil in French public schools has been prohibited by law for reasons of upholding secularism, but according to a study by economist Eric Maurin reported by Le Monde, this ban has also had a positive effect on the schooling of young Muslim girls. An analysis published in his book “Trois leçons sur l’école républicaine” ( Publisher Seuil). To reach this conclusion, Eric Maurin analysed the success rate of Muslim girls in the baccalaureate according to their year of birth. The 1994 Bayrou decree (banning the wearing of the veil, ed.) was a turning point. Although the law on banning the veil did not come into force until ten years later, this first decree had de facto the same effect.
The study finds that of Muslim women born in France before 1970 and therefore not affected by the ban on the veil, only one in two has achieved the baccalaureate, compared to 62% of non-Muslim women. By contrast, of the young women born after 1990 and who therefore went to school after the veil was banned, 68% have passed the baccalaureate. The gap with their non-Muslim classmates (74 % of whom had passed the baccalaureate) has been halved. According to Eric Maurin, the headscarf ban would have allowed young Muslim girls from traditional families to have a more carefree time at school, Le Monde reports. This would have put an end to family conflicts over the issue.As for the impact of other factors, especially social factors, the economist finds none. He also notes that Muslim men have not experienced the same positive development in the periods studied. They are still 12 points behind non-Muslim students in access to higher education.
But moslems don’t want girls to go to school anyway