Overview

• Presented in the Chamber by Sara Kelany with Galeazzo Bignami and Francesco Filini, and backed at the launch by Justice undersecretary Andrea Delmastro, the bill would ban garments that obscure the face in public places, schools, universities, shops and offices, with fines of €300 to €3,000.
• It would impose transparency rules on financing for places of worship, including notifying the Interior Ministry of foreign funds to guard against contributions from entities pursuing aims contrary to the state order.
• Penalties would increase to two to seven years for inducing marriage by deception, while forcing someone to marry, including abroad, would carry four to ten years in prison, with higher terms when victims are minors.
• Two new crimes would target coercive virginity examinations and the issuance of virginity certificates, punishable by two to five years in prison except when an examination is medically justified.
• The text would broaden offenses related to religiously motivated propaganda and instigation and empower Prefects to order temporary closures of places of worship, following a similar Lega proposal earlier this year and intersecting with Italy’s 1975 anti–face covering law as parliamentary debate begins.