Italy Moves To Ban Burqa, Niqab In Schools Aand Limit Foreign Students Per Class

Italy is preparing a new policy that will ban face coverings such as burqas and niqabs in schools and introduce a cap on the number of foreign students allowed per class. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the proposal would soon go before the Cabinet. He stated that students must attend school with their faces uncovered and thatthat parents of foreign students who struggle with integration would be required to learn Italian.

“You must go to school with your face uncovered, and no one can decide that a young woman must hide herself,” she said. Although she did not reveal the exact cap, Meloni defended the measure, arguing that when too many children in a class cannot understand Italian, “that is no longer integration. It is neglect.”