PARIS: Trade unions and anti-racism groups have criticized an initiative by the French interior ministry to check on the number of Muslim children who skipped school last month to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr.
The festival, which concludes the holy month of Ramadan, is observed as a holiday in Muslim-majority countries and fell on Friday, April 21, for most believers this year.
France’s interior ministry said Sunday that it had ordered “an evaluation of the level of absenteeism recorded on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr.”
The ministry “regularly studies the impact of some religious festivals on the workings of public services, and notably in the educational sector,” said a statement from junior minister Sonia Backes.
In the city of Toulouse, police asked the heads of local schools to report the number of absent children on April 21, leading to accusations that authorities were creating a registry — which was denied by Backes.
The country’s biggest teachers’ union, the FSU, said in a statement addressed to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Monday that it “harshly denounces this operation.”
“Attempting to create statistics by security forces on religious beliefs and their observance or not, above all in a school environment, goes against the basic principles of secularism and fundamental rights,” it said.
The smaller CGT Educ’ation union called it a “scandalous and dangerous stigmatization.”
Using police to carry out the checks was “particularly shocking because it associates the observance of the Islamic religion to an issue of security,” the anti-racism group SOS Racisme said.
France has a strict form of secularism that seeks to separate the state and its various branches from religion and religious bodies, while guaranteeing the freedom to worship to all.
Collecting information about ethnicity or religious beliefs is also generally prohibited in France under the country’s anti-discrimination laws.
Owing to the country’s Catholic heritage, major Christian festivals such as Christmas or Easter are observed as public holidays in France when schools are closed.
Outcry in France over checks on children skipping school for Eid
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Outcry in France over checks on children skipping school for Eid
- France’s interior ministry said Sunday that it had ordered “an evaluation of the level of absenteeism recorded on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr”
UN expert decries detention of Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s wife
- “The state has an obligation to protect Mrs. Khan’s health and ensure conditions of detention compatible with human dignity,” Edwards said in a statement
GENEVA: The wife of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could pose a serious risk to her physical and mental health, a UN expert warned Wednesday.
Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, urged the Pakistani authorities to take immediate action to address the situation.
Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were convicted of graft in January, and they were sentenced to 14 years and seven years in prison, respectively.
And on Saturday, a Pakistani court sentenced them to 17 years for corruption involving gifts the jailed ex-premier received while in office.
Both Khan and Bibi were handed a 10-year prison sentence on criminal breach of trust, and seven years on corruption charges in a case alleging the underpricing of state gifts.
“The state has an obligation to protect Mrs. Khan’s health and ensure conditions of detention compatible with human dignity,” Edwards said in a statement.
Bibi is reportedly confined to a small and dirty cell which is often dark due to power cuts, said Edwards.
“Such conditions fall far below minimum international standards,” said Edwards.
“No detainee should be exposed to extreme heat, contaminated food or water, or conditions that aggravate existing medical conditions.”
Reports also indicate that she is often in near-total isolation for more than 22 hours a day.
“The authorities must ensure Mrs. Khan has the possibility to communicate with her lawyers and receive visits from family members, and have meaningful human contact throughout her detention,” Edwards said.
The special rapporteur has formally raised Bibi’s situation with the government in Islamabad.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the Human Rights Council. They do not speak for the United Nations itself.
Earlier this month, Edwards said Khan was being held in conditions that could amount to torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment.
She urged the Pakistani authorities to ensure that the 73-year-old’s conditions of detention fully complied with international norms.
Khan, who captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, upended Pakistani politics by becoming the prime minister in 2018.
He was ousted in 2022 by a no-confidence vote after losing favor with the military.
The former cricket star has been held in custody since August 2023, charged in dozens of cases that he claims are politically motivated.
