Overview

• The Fratelli d’Italia draft would prohibit burqas and niqabs in schools, universities, workplaces and other public places, with fines ranging from €300 to €3,000.
• The text couples the ban with tighter controls on mosque financing and foreign‑linked associations, stiffer penalties related to arranged marriages, and a new offense for non‑medical “virginity tests” punishable by up to five years in prison.
• The proposal has been submitted to the Chamber of Deputies and is slated for committee examination before any plenary debate.
• Opposition parties and Muslim community representatives criticize the plan as discriminatory and likely to marginalize women, while sponsors frame it as a security and integration measure.
• Several European countries already restrict full‑face veils and the European Court of Human Rights has upheld limited national bans to protect social harmony, and Italy also retains a 1975 law barring full face covering in public.