French ban of abaya robes in schools draws applause, criticism

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 29 August 2023

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By Juliette Jabkhiro

PARIS - The French government's decision to ban children from wearing the abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools drew applause on Monday from the right, but also criticism.

France has enforced a ban on religious symbols in state schools since 2004, to uphold its strict brand of secularism, known as "laicite". The topic is a sensitive one, regularly triggering political tension in the country.

"Our schools are continually put under test, and over the past months, breaches to laicite have increased considerably, in particular with (pupils) wearing religious attire like abayas and kameez," Education Minister Gabriel Attal told a news conference to explain Sunday's ban.

But many on the left criticised the move, including Clementine Autain, an MP for the hard-left France Insoumise, who criticised what she called the "clothes police" and a move "characteristic of an obsessional rejection of Muslims".

And some academics agreed the move could be counterproductive, all the more as it touched on clothing they said was worn for fashion or identity rather than religion.

"It's going to hurt Muslims in general. They will, once again, feel stigmatised," said sociologist Agnes De Feo, who has been researching French women wearing niqab for the past decade.

"It's really a shame because people will judge these young girls, while it (the abaya) is a teenage expression without consequences."

'IT'S A NORMAL GARMENT'

Twenty-two-years old Djennat, who wears abayas at home, said she could not understand why it was banned.

"It's a long dress, quite loose, it's a normal garment, there is no religious meaning attached to it," she told Reuters. She declined to giver her name because she was training to become a teacher.

In 2004, France banned headscarves in schools and passed a ban on full face veils in public in 2010, angering some in its more than five million-strong Muslim community, and triggering the creation of private Muslim schools, De Feo said.

Less than a year ago, Attal's predecessor, Pap Ndiaye, said he was against banning the abaya, telling the Senate that "the abaya is not easy to define, legally... it would take us to the administrative tribunal, where we would lose".

Daoud Riffi, who teaches Islam studies at the Lille Institute of Political Studies, agreed. "In and of itself, there's no such thing as an Islamic outfit. We need to challenge that myth," he told Reuters.

Riffi said there was a wider fashion trend among female high school students, who buy long dresses and kimonos online.

Both Riffi and De Feo said that to differentiate between fashion and religion could lead to pupils being profiled based on their identity.

The garment can look very elegant as shown in the photo.

Spain team quits as federation boss refuses to resign in kiss scandal

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 26 August 2023

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By Fernando Kallas and Emma Pinedo

MADRID - Spanish soccer boss Luis Rubiales on Friday refused to resign for grabbing star player Jenni Hermoso's head and kissing her on the lips after Spain's Women's World Cup victory, leading the national team to mutiny and the government to denounce his "macho actions".

In a joint statement sent via their FUTPRO union, all 23 of the cup-winning squad including Hermoso, as well as 32 other squad members, said they would not play internationals while Rubiales remains head of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

In the same statement, Hermoso denied Rubiales' contention that the kiss he gave her at the medal ceremony after Spain beat England 1-0 in the final in Sydney, Australia, was consensual.

"I do not tolerate it when my word is put into doubt and less so when words that I have not said are invented," she wrote.

Later, in a statement on social media on Friday, Hermoso added: "I felt vulnerable and a victim of aggression. I was simply not respected."

She said she had been put under "continuous pressure to justify Mr Rubiales' actions" by the RFEF. She added that the incident was "the final straw" in a long list of situations that players had been denouncing for years.

The federation, which has not responded to her latest comments, called an emergency meeting on Friday at which Rubiales had been widely expected to stand down. But instead he said repeatedly that he would not quit and complained that "false feminists" were "trying to kill me".

He called the kiss a "little peck" that was "spontaneous, mutual, euphoric and consensual". He also claimed that he asked Hermoso if he could kiss her and that she said "OK".

"Is a consensual peck going to take me out of here? I won't resign. I will fight until the end," said Rubiales, 46, drawing applause from the predominantly male audience.

The comments and reaction from the audience were widely scorned on social media.

Criticism of Rubiales' behaviour after Spain's win has built throughout the week, and acting Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz called his speech on Friday "unacceptable".

She wrote on social media: "The government must act and take urgent measures: impunity for macho actions is over. Rubiales cannot continue in office."

Acting Equality Minister Irene Montero said the state prosecutor and the state-run sports council CSD should act to protect Hermoso.

FIFA opened disciplinary procedures against Rubiales on Thursday after Hermoso said in a statement her union was working to defend her interests and that such acts should "never go unpunished".

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

The government, which cannot sack Rubiales, will seek to have him suspended using a legal procedure before a sports tribunal, the head of the CSD, Victor Francos, told reporters.

"We want all this to be a 'Me Too' of Spanish soccer," Francos said, adding that the CSD could suspend Rubiales during the investigation if the tribunal agrees.

If it can be proven that the kiss was non-consensual, Rubiales could even be tried under a sexual violence law introduced by the ruling Socialists last year.

Gender issues have become a prominent topic in Spain in recent years. Tens of thousands of women have taken part in street marches protesting sexual abuse and violence.

The coalition government has presided over legal reforms including around equal pay, abortion, sex work and transgender rights.

"This is unacceptable. It's over. We're with you, teammate Jenni Hermoso," fellow player Alexia Putellas said on X after Friday's federation meeting.

Some male players also protested.

Borja Iglesias of Real Betis, who last played for Spain in 2022, said on X he would not put himself forward for selection for the national team "until things change and these kinds of acts don't remain unpunished".

At the event on Sunday, Rubiales was also seen grabbing his crotch in celebration while standing next to Queen Letizia in a box at the stadium, for which he apologised on Friday.

The international football players union FIFPro said in a statement it had written to UEFA, where Rubiales is vice president, requesting that it start disciplinary proceedings. UEFA declined to comment.

Rubiales met with key federation members shortly before the assembly and told them about his plans not to resign, according to a federation source.

The only person who objected was Rafael del Amo, president of the national committee for women's football, who said he would step down in protest.

Mysterious ‘repairs’ on plane before explosion ‘killed Wagner leader’

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 24 August 2023

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By Will Stewart

LONDON - A mysterious delay hit the flight in which Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is believed to have died, according to claims on Thursday.

Russia's civil aviation agency said that Prigozhin and six top lieutenants - including deputy Dmitry Utkin Wagner -were on a business jet that crashed on Wednesday, soon after taking off from Moscow, with a crew of three.

Rescuers quickly found all 10 bodies, and Russian media cited sources in Prigozhin's Wagner private military company who confirmed his death.

US and other Western officials long expected Putin to go after Prigozhin, despite promising to drop charges in a deal that ended the June 23-24 mutiny.

“I don't know for a fact what happened but I'm not surprised," U.S. President Joe Biden said. "There's not much that happens in Russia that Putin's not behind."

Prigozhin supporters claimed on pro-Wagner messaging app channels that the plane was deliberately downed and offered different theories for how.

Evidence from Flightradar suggested the business jet - linked to Prigozhin - suddenly fell from the sky at 6.19pm Moscow time after reaching a cruising altitude of 29,855ft enroute to St Petersburg.

Another account said the plane in just 22 seconds lost 8,000ft after which it ceased sending data as it plunged to the ground where it exploded in a fireball.

The speed of the aircraft lessened then sharply increased immediately before it plunged from the sky, according to separate unconfirmed reports on Telegram channels including Rybar.

Police cordoned off the field where the plane crashed as investigators studied the site. Vehicles were seen driving in to take the bodies, reportedly badly charred, for a forensic exam. The bodies were driven away after two black Russian GAZelle came to the crash site at 4.30am on Thursday.

At Wagner's headquarters in St Petersburg, lights were turned on in the shape of a large cross. Prigozhin's supporters brought flowers to the building in an improvised memorial.

While countless theories about the events swirled, most observers saw Prigozhin's death as Putin's punishment for the most serious challenge to his authority of his 23-year rule.

The jet is said to have crashed in the Tver region, north of Moscow. The Russian emergency services ministry said “according to preliminary information, all those on board died”.

Flight attendant Kristina Raspopova, 39, had told her relatives of an unexplained holdup before the flight. She also indicated the aircraft was being “repaired”, according to VChK-OGPU Telegram channel.

Her last picture showed her waiting at an airport cafe.

A relative of flight attendant Kristina Raspopova told the channel: “She said that she was in Moscow, she was going to fly out, today or tomorrow.

“The aircraft was under maintenance or some urgent repairs.

“They were waiting for the flight. Some kind of maintenance.”

The relative said: “She said that the flight was domestic.

“They were waiting for a call when to fly.

“Regarding the maintenance of the aircraft, she said that either it was maintenance, or it was just an aircraft repair, something like that.

“They were waiting for the order to take off…”

Meanwhile Wagner mercenary loyalists have vowed revenge on Vlidmir Putin who they blame for assassinating Prigozhin, 62, head of the private army closely backed by Russian military intelligence.

The Russian security forces tightened security in Rostov and Belgorod regions where Wagner forces remain encamped.

Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said: “Obviously, Prigozhin signed his own death warrant at the moment when he believed in [Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko’s] strange ‘guarantees’ and Putin’s equally absurd ‘word of honour’.

“The defiant removal of Prigozhin and the Wagner team two months after the coup attempt is Putin’s signal to the Russian elites ahead of the 2024 elections.”

The elites were being warned to be “careful” because “disloyalty equals death”, he said.

“But this is also a signal to the Russian military: there will be no “heroes of the [war]”.

“If not a Ukrainian tribunal, then it will be an FSB bullet.”

A source familiar with Prigozhin said that he had been “sure that Putin would forgive him everything and was not afraid of anything.

“He said that he knew a lot [about Putin].

“We will see if something from his archives appears now…”

Russian MP and pro-war fanatic Mikhail Delyagin claimed that he did not believe Prigozhin was dead.

“I strongly doubt the death of Utkin, and even Prigozhin,” he said.

“People [like this] sometimes use fictitious disasters to leave the public stage, where they are uncomfortable.”

Yet sources close to the Kremlin also did not rule out the possibility that Prigozhin may still be alive, said the publication.

“He’s a trickster, a troll. He has informants in various structures, so we have to wait,” one said.