Meloni promises to ban burqas, niqabs in Italy’s schools

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is facing a growing challenge from parties further to the right of her own Brothers of Italy party. [File: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP]

Italy will ban burqas and niqabs in schools, as well as limit the number of foreign students in classes, said far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with immigration expected to be a central issue in next year’s general election.

Meloni outlined the proposed changes on Sunday at a gathering of the youth wing of her nationalist conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, adding that they would also make Italian language lessons compulsory for parents of foreign students having “serious difficulties integrating into the school system”.

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“For us, anyone who comes to Italy and wants to build their future here must learn our language, understand our culture, and respect our rules,” she said to a standing ovation at the Gioventu Nazionale national festival in Rome. “It is the only serious way to welcome them.”

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

Meloni’s right-wing administration is Italy’s longest-running government since the end of the Second World War , but her party is expected to face a serious challenge in 2027 from the National Future (FN) party, which is further to the right of the FdI and its popularity has been rapidly increasing in polls since February.

FN called for a crackdown on the wearing of burqas in schools in July.

Law on face coverings

Burqas are full-face veils sometimes worn by Muslim women that hide the entire face, including the eyes. Niqabs are similar, but the eyes are visible.

Neither covering is expressly banned in Italy, but a 1975 law prohibits the use of helmets or garments that make identification difficult without a justified reason.

A 2008 ruling later clarified that full-face coverings may be worn for religious or cultural reasons if the face is revealed when identity verification is required.

However, the anti-immigrant League party, which is part of Meloni’s ruling coalition, submitted a bill earlier this year that would ban helmets or garments, except in specific circumstances such as sporting events or places of worship.

Alongside the burqa ban, Meloni said she would implement a legal cap on the number of foreign students per class.

However, a 30 percent limit on foreign students per class and school already exists under Italian law and Meloni did not spell out how that would change.

Foreign students currently make up about 12 percent of enrolment in Italian schools.

意大利总理乔治娅·梅洛尼正面临来自比她所属的意大利兄弟党更右翼政党的日益严峻的挑战。[图片：Alberto Pizzoli/AFP]

意大利极右翼总理乔治娅·梅洛尼表示，意大利将禁止在学校穿罩袍和面纱，并限制班级中的外国学生人数。预计移民问题将成为明年大选的核心议题。

梅洛尼周日在她所属的民族保守派政党意大利兄弟党（FdI）青年翼的一次集会上概述了拟议的改革，并补充说，这些改革还将强制要求“在融入学校系统方面存在严重困难”的外国学生的家长学习意大利语。

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“对我们来说，任何来到意大利并想在这里安家落户的人都必须学习我们的语言，了解我们的文化，尊重我们的规则，”她在罗马举行的意大利青年节上说道，赢得了全场起立鼓掌。“这是欢迎他们的唯一真诚方式。”

一旦获得政府批准，这些变更还需要在 60 天内获得议会批准才能成为法律。

梅洛尼领导的右翼政府是二战结束以来意大利执政时间最长的政府，但预计她的政党将在 2027 年面临来自民族未来党 (FN) 的严峻挑战，该党比意大利独立党 (FdI) 更右倾，并且自 2 月以来，其民意支持率一直在迅速上升。

国民阵线在7月份呼吁严厉打击在学校穿罩袍的行为。

关于佩戴口罩的法律

罩袍是穆斯林妇女有时佩戴的全脸面纱，遮盖住整个面部，包括眼睛。尼卡布与之类似，但眼睛是可见的。

意大利并未明确禁止佩戴头盔或穿戴衣物，但 1975 年的一项法律禁止在没有正当理由的情况下佩戴头盔或穿戴会使身份识别变得困难的衣物。

2008 年的一项裁决后来明确指出，出于宗教或文化原因，如果在需要进行身份验证时露出面部，则可以佩戴全脸遮盖物。

然而，作为梅洛尼执政联盟成员的反移民联盟党今年早些时候提交了一项法案，该法案将禁止佩戴头盔或服装，但体育赛事或宗教场所等特定情况除外。

除了禁止穿罩袍外，梅洛尼还表示，她将对每班外国学生的数量设定法律上限。

然而，意大利法律已经规定每班每所学校的外国学生人数上限为 30%，梅洛尼并没有具体说明这一限制将如何改变。

目前，外国学生约占意大利学校入学人数的12%。