After a school in France sent a student home to change her outfit because her skirt was considered 'too long', social media went into overdrive and slammed the school in question for the possible religious prejudice lurking behind the incident.
Having removed her head scarf in accordance with French laws, the student in question, who happens to be a practising Muslim, was asked to return to school in a different outfit as the length of her skirt apparently made reference to her religion.
Commenting on the incident which has caused outcry on various social media platforms, an official in the French town of Charleville- Mezieres, said: "The girl was not excluded, she was asked to come back with a neutral outfit."
Replying to the suggestion that the student's skirt could be deemed a 'provocation' or a potential symbol of protest against the country's secularism, members of the public took to Twitter and shared images of high-profile women wearing long skirts and used them as a vehicle to comment on the incident.
Posting photos of Michelle Obama in a floor length dress, Twitter users took a tongue-in-cheek approach to the controversy, quipping that Michelle's dress is 'unworthy of the Republic."
One Twitter user even referred to France's gift of the Statute of Liberty to the United States in 1886 and sarcastically suggested that the garment on the famous status was also too long.
Opening up about the incident, Sarah, the student at the centre of the storm, said her choice of skirt has no hidden meaning, explaining: "It's nothing special, it’s very simple, there’s nothing conspicuous. There is no religious sign whatsoever."
A hashtag #JePorteMaJuppeCommeJeVeuz, meaning 'I wear my skirt as I like', has been trending on social media since the incident took place.
