Italy bans burqa and niqab but only in schools
The measure has received the support of the Conference of European Imams, which considers that it protects "dignity and security.".
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The government of Giorgia Meloni has approved a decree that prohibits participating in school activities with the face covered. The regulation does not explicitly mention the burqa or the niqab, but it prohibits entering the classroom wearing any garment that does not allow the face to be recognised and provides for sanctions ranging from 200 and 1,000 euros. In the case of minors, the fine will fall on the parents. According to the explanation. Evening Courier, It will be the heads of the centres who are responsible for reporting the infringements to the prefect.
The measure puts an end to a situation that until now had remained in a grey area. Some educational institutions They had opted to tolerate the niqab to prevent the students from dropping out of their studies.. The new decree now introduces a specific ban within the school: the pupils will be able to continue wearing headscarf or any other veil that leaves the face visible, but not a burqa or niqab.
Identity check every morning at Monfalcone High School.
The new rule will put an end to situations like the one that had been going on for months at institutes such as the Sandro Pertini in Monfalcone, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Five students who attended class wearing a niqab They had to pass through a secluded room every morning before entering the classroom.. There, in front of a teacher, they lifted their veil so that the centre could verify that they were indeed the enrolled students. The headmistress He defended this procedure as a solution to prevent them from dropping out of school..
The adaptation was not limited to identification. The centre also had modified some physical education activitiesBadminton was introduced, and some female students were exempted from running because their long tunics made it difficult. The Ministry of Education itself then acknowledged that there was a «regulatory gap» regarding the niqab in schools and called on Parliament to establish clear rules.
The ban divides Muslims and parties
The ban on the burqa and niqab in schools has provoked reactions both for and against, also within the Muslim world itself. Among those who have welcomed the decision is Hassen Chalghoumi, president of the Conference of European Imams, who has congratulated Giorgia Meloni and defends that the measure protects «dignity and security'». In statements to The Journal, Chalghoumi says that the niqab stems from a rigorist interpretation of Islam., remember that it is also prohibited in Egypt or Morocco and states that «It diminishes the role and dignity of Muslim women.»It also links its imposition to Salafist currents and to the Muslim Brotherhood.
In contrast, Abdelhafid Kheit, imam of Catania and president of the Islamic community of Sicily, has spoken out. In an interview with The Republic He has described the ban as an «election campaign rule» and believes the government is legislating on a residual phenomenon., since he estimates that across Italy there can be only about ten pupils attending class in a burqa or niqab. According to Kheit, the government should focus on more important issues in the education system.
As far as the matches are concerned, the measure has also caused division. Fratelli d'Italia and the Lega have defended it as a matter of security, integration and respect for common rules.. From the opposition, however, the Democratic Party has criticised the entire school decree and Elly Schlein has described it as «shameful», while +Europa has accused the government of fuelling an ideological battle over immigration and Islam.
Meloni wants to avoid ghetto schools
The ban on the burqa and the niqab is part of a broader decree on integration in schools. The government has also set a limit on 30% foreign students per class when they do not have sufficient knowledge of Italian.. Meloni defends that the aim is to avoid «ghetto classes» and has even gone so far as to say that Italian children cannot end up being a minority in their own classroom. Minister Giuseppe Valditara says that there are currently some 34,000 classes with more than 30% foreign students, although they admit that they still do not know how many actually exceed the new limit once those born in Italy or those who speak the language are excluded.
The decree also requires the parents of pupils with serious language difficulties to attend Free Italian courses if ignorance of the language hinders the children's school integration. Refusing to comply may result in fines of between €200 and €1,000. Meloni presents the package — cap on pupil numbers, compulsory Italian language learning and a ban on the full-face veil — as an integration policy based on common rules. However, in the case of the burqa and the niqab, the government has for the time being chosen to act only within schools: outside educational establishments, the general ban proposed by Fratelli d'Italia remains pending.
An increasingly Islamized school
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