Italian authorities plan to ban wearing burqas and niqabs

Italy’s ruling Brothers of Italy party has said it plans to introduce legislation seeking to ban the burqa and niqab face and body coverings in all public spaces nationwide, calling it a bill against “Islamic separatism.”

According to Politico, the initiative will be part of a broader bill proposed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The legislation would also regulate mosque funding and restrict the wearing of hijabs.

“Religious freedom is sacred, but it must be exercised in the open, in full respect of our constitution and the principles of the Italian state,” said lawmaker Andrea Delmastro, one of the initiators of the planned bill, in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

The proposed bill would include increased penalties for forced marriages and requirements.

Delmastro said Italy had drawn inspiration from France, the first European country to introduce a full burqa ban in 2011. Since then, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland and several other countries in Europe and around the world have imposed full or partial bans on women’s clothing related to Islam.