Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has put forward plans for a burka ban in a bid to crack down on “Islamic separatism”.
Her party, the Brothers of Italy (FdI), has tabled a Bill which would see anyone wearing the garments in schools, universities, shops and offices fined over £2,500.
Ms Meloni commands a coalition Government with a large majority – and the Bill, only proposed on Wednesday, is expected to pass.
The FdI has vowed that the Bill combats “Islamic separatism, religious radicalisation and religiously motivated hatred”.
“The law against Islamic separatism represents a necessary step to protect Italian identity, the safety of citizens, and the freedom of women,” it said in a statement.
“It’s not about limiting religious freedom, but about preventing it from being exploited to justify practices incompatible with the principles of our constitution and our society.
“We want to intervene against Islamic separatism, a phenomenon manifested through the creation of enclaves where sharia law prevails over Italian law.
“While not at the same level as France, worrying signs are beginning to emerge in Italy too.”
PICTURED: Muslim women – including one, centre, wearing a niqab – pray in Rome. Ms Meloni’s Bill would ban the niqab from public spaces too
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Elsewhere, the Bill would impose criminal penalties for virginity testing, and would make religious forced marriages punishable by law.
The legislation will also boost the transparency of Islamic groups in Italy by making them disclose all their sources of funding to the Government.
The groups will then have their financing restricted to entities which do not threaten Italian national security.
The burka ban would also apply to niqabs. The former covers the entirety of the face, while the latter leaves a small slit for the eyes.
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‘While not at the same level as France, worrying signs are beginning to emerge in Italy too,’ Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party said
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Italy’s move, if successful, would bring it in lock-step with France, which introduced a blanket public burka ban in 2011.
Across Europe, countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland have all moved to impose bans in some form.
The European Court of Human Rights has upheld these bans.
In 2017, it backed Belgium’s burka block – ruling that states may restrict the veils to protect “living together” in society.
And earlier this year, Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin raised the issue to the Prime Minister at PMQs.
Now, Ms Pochin has come out to back Ms Meloni. She told the Express last night: “I fully support Georgia Meloni’s call for a ban on the burka and niqab in public spaces.
“Italy is following the lead of many other countries who put the security of their citizens first.
Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin has backed Ms Meloni’s ban plan
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PA“I asked Keir Starmer to do the same in the interests of public safety. Starmer refused to answer my question.”
A petition to ban the face covering has so far reached nearly 60,000 signatures.
While that falls below the level required to force a debate in Parliament, it has prompted a response from the Government.
Labour said it was “committed to celebrating and promoting… the huge contribution of people of faith to public life.”
“There is no current legislation that bans the wearing of religious or non-religious face coverings and the Government has no intention to introduce any,” the petition response continued.
