PRIME MINISTER GIORGIA MELONI BAN BURQAS NIQABS ITALY SCHOOLS
Written by Michael Thervil
[GIORGIA MELONI BAN BURQAS NIQABS ITALY SCHOOLS] With Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni push her proposal to ban Burqas and Niqabs in Italian schools along with aiming mandatory Italian lessons for foreign parents of students a spotlight has been further shed between policies surrounding immigration, religious expression, 30% cap on amount of foreign students per class, integrations of foreigners, and what it means to be Italian. While Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was quoted during her address at the Gioventu Nazionale National Festival in Rome, “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. It is the only serious way to welcome them.”
While this resonated with many people during her address, there is a significant amount of people in Italy that not only disagree with her push to ban female students from wearing Burqas and Niqabs in classrooms around the country, but they are taking the position that her proposed policy is an assault on the religious expression, cultural traditions, norms, and values of residents within Italy.
While both Niqabs and Burqas are veils, the key differences lies in the fact that Niqabs are conversing worn by practicing Muslim females that covers her head and face while leaving her eyes uncovered; while Burqa’s are loose fitting clothing worn by practicing Muslim females that cover her entire body as well as her face but also includes a mesh screen that covers her eyes. The issues lies with the fact that although neither one of the articles of clothing are currently prohibited by law, some Italian legal experts say that the wearing of Niqabs and Burqas could be seen as violating Italy's 1975 Law that prevents people within Italy from wearing helmets and or garments that make identification difficult without a justifiable reason.
It’s currently being argued by supporters of the wearing of Burqas and Niqabs that "religious freedom” or “religious customs” are justifiable reasons that would make females that wear such items exempt from the Law that was established in 1975. This was demonstrated by a court ruling in 2008 that drew the conclusion that face covering could be worn for both religious and cultural reasons if the wearing face is revealed when identity verification is required.
If Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's proposal is approved by the Italian government, in order for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s proposed policy to take effect, her proposal would still require the Italian parliament approval within 60 to pass her legislation into Law. In short, some are saying that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is seeking to preserve Italian culture at the expense of immigrants. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is framing her argument for gender equality and women’s rights as she was quoted saying: “in Italy no one, in a real or supposed tradition, can decide that a young woman must hide herself.”
Comments