An education adviser from Italy rebukes teachers for having a “colonial gaze”
Marwa Mahmoud is an Egyptian-Italian politician and education adviser in Reggio Emilia. With her call to “decolonise the gaze” in schools, she has offended trade unions and teachers.
Marwa Mahmoud
Reggiana Press
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The words of Reggio Emilia's education adviser, Marwa Mahmoud, have caused a notable rift between teachers and political parties. At an event in Bologna, Mahmoud invited schools to “decolonise the gaze” and overcome “colonial approaches” in their dealings with pupils of foreign origin. The phrase It was perceived by many teachers as an implicit accusation of racism..
The reactions did not take long to come: Trade unions, teachers and centre-right parties denounced “ideological” language.”, “detached from reality” and “offensive” to those who work in the classroom every day.
The statement that has ignited the conflict: “decolonise the gaze”
Media outlets explain how Reggiana Press, who during the presentation of the Dossier Immigrazione 2025, the adviser Marwa Mahmoud He maintained that part of the teaching profession still operates with a “colonial” mindset and that it needed to be reviewed through continuous training “to change the way we look at difference.”.
According to many teachers, however, This statement suggests that most of them treat foreign students worse., an extreme stance they flatly reject. “It's a sweeping and unfair accusation,” said teachers from the Liceo Matilde di Canossa, who invited the councillor to verify it on site. The education unions, such as the CISL, They have rejected the speech for considering it “abstract” and “detached from reality”.” and based on an imported ideological framework
The City Council denies the debate and blocks explanations.
The Mahmoud case has also reached the full council, but The City Council of Reggio Emilia has decided not to open any institutional discussion about the councillor's statements.. At the 10 November session, the governing majority rejected two urgent agenda items presented by the opposition, which called for public explanations and a position on the controversy that had arisen. According to the opposition, this decision demonstrates “fear of debate” and an attempt to prevent the case from being handled transparently before the public.
The Mahmoud case has also reached the full council, but The City Council of Reggio Emilia has decided not to open any institutional discussion about the councillor's statements.. According to information from Twenty-four Emilia, The municipal council «doesn't want to talk about it». With its governing majority, it rejected two urgent motions put forward by the opposition, which called for public explanations. According to the opposition, this decision shows “fear of debate” and an attempt to prevent the case from being handled transparently before the public.
The opposition had registered a very precise agenda: it demanded that adviser Mahmoud eExplain publicly exactly what he meant by expressions such as “colonial degradation” and “decolonising approach” as applied to classrooms with pupils of foreign origin.. According to Fratelli d'Italia, these were “very serious accusations” against the Reggio Emilia education system, and the city council was obliged to seek explanations. The agenda also urged Mayor Massari and the municipal government to make an official statement on whether they shared the view that the schools suffer from a “colonial gaze.”.
Who is Marwa Mahmoud? The background of a divisive figure.
Born in Egypt and raised in the city of Reggio Emilia, Mahmoud is a well-known figure in local progressivism within the Democratic Party (PD). She was president of the municipal Human Rights Commission, a post that already generated friction with opponents who denounced an “excessive ideological stance” and lack of impartiality. She has also been at the centre of media controversies in which she herself… She stated that she felt attacked “for being Arab and Muslim”.”, which ignited a political debate about identity and representation.
Their discourse often incorporates concepts such as “radical interculturality”, “postcolonialism” and “educational decolonisation”, elements that have been criticised by conservative parties as attempts to introduce an ideological agenda into the Italian school because it seems «too Italian» to them.
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