Italy's Meloni announces plan to ban burqa, niqab in schools; cap on foreign students

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Sunday said her government was planning to introduce a measure which would ban the wearing of burqas and niqabs in schools, and cap the number of foreign students in classrooms.

Meloni said that anyone who wants to “build a future” in Italy must learn the language, “understand our culture, and respect our rules.” (AFP)Meloni specifically referred to the ban on burqa – an all covering dress worn by Muslim women – and the niqab – a veil worn by some Muslim women. However, the Italian PM did not mention the hijab, the headscarf worn by some Muslim women, the Associated Press reported.

Once approved by the government, the new measure would need parliamentary approval within 60 days to pass into law.

Meloni, addressing an annual gathering of the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy party, said, “A measure will soon be presented to a Cabinet meeting to legally establish a maximum number of foreign students per class. It also requires parents of foreign students facing serious difficulties integrating into the school system to learn Italian and bans burqas and niqabs in schools.”

Italy, owing to its central Mediterranean location, is among he European countries most exposed to migrant arrivals, with their integration remaining contentious in Italian society, Reuters news agency reported.

“You must go to school with your face uncovered, and in Italy no one, in the name of a real or supposed tradition, can decide that a young woman must hide herself,” Reuters cited Meloni as saying.

Meloni also stated that the announced measure, when brought in, would also require “parents of foreign students facing serious difficulties integrating into the school system to learn Italian.”

“If there is only one child in a class who doesn’t understand Italian, that child will likely be able to learn the language and integrate quickly with the help of classmates and teachers,” Meloni said, according to Reuters.

However, the Italian PM said that if the number of children who don’t understand the language “becomes large – or even the majority”, “that is no longer integration; it is neglect.”

Meloni said that anyone who wants to “build a future” in Italy must learn the language, “understand our culture, and respect our rules.” “It is the only serious way to welcome them,” Meloni said, to a standing ovation at the Gioventù Nazionale national festival in Rome, AP reported.

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