Italy to ban niqabs in schools, PM Meloni says

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced plans to ban burqas and niqabs in schools and limit the number of foreign students per class. According to Meloni, the measure will soon be presented to her government and would also make Italian language lessons compulsory for parents of foreign students having "serious difficulties integrating into the school system".

The proposed ban specifically refers to the burqa, an all-covering dress worn by some Muslim women, and the niqab, a veil worn by conservative Muslim women, in which only the eyes show. However, Meloni did not mention the hijab, a headscarf worn by some Muslim women.

Once approved by the government, the measure would need parliamentary approval within 60 days to pass into law, as reported by CityNews and South China Morning Post.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, South China Morning Post, New Straits Times, Euronews, CityNews — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.