Religious freedom in Italian schools is abused for political gain
Photo Canva.com, AFP, Mohammed Huwais
Christian Life
Italy does not have rules for religious clothing at schools. As a result, the case of students from religious minorities are abused for political gain, Chiara Lamberti writes.
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In Monfalcone, a town in northeastern Italy, a seemingly routine decision by a local school has ignited a debate that resonates far beyond its borders. Before entering the classroom at 8 a.m. in a secluded room, the headmistress of the Sandro Pertini High School lifts the black veil of a girl to check whether she is the pupil enrolled.
This is the practice, not codified but adopted, for Islamic schoolgirls – many of them Bengali – who wear the niqab to class because of their faith. According to the head teacher, if the girls’ veils were removed, they would no longer attend school. It would be a failure for integration.
Politicians widely rejected the decision of the school, which was made in a situation without any rules at all. The school’s decision to protect its students was supported by some and condemned by others as a mere argument for political propaganda.
People started talking again about how countries should be controlled and how schools should be run. Overall, the situation shows how difficult it is to combine the desire to protect religious freedom with the need to keep public institutions neutral.
Relaxed
Within Europe, countries deal very differently with this dilemma. Take, for example, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. If you put them on a scale from assimilation to multiculturalism, they will all have a different position.
France, which has historically welcomed many immigrants, has strict rules about wearing the veil in schools, as part of its strong belief in laïcité, the separation of religion and state. In Germany, where there are many immigrants, a ban on headscarves only applies to teachers.
Compared to France and Germany, the UK has always been more relaxed in this. There is no national ban on headscarves in schools; on the contrary, the Equality Act of 2010 protects the right to wear religious clothing in the classroom unless there are specific needs that mean it can’t be worn. But this right isn’t absolute. The law says that “when a school has good reason to restrict an individual’s freedoms, restrictions are justified”. Even in these cases, it is up to each school to decide.
Diverse
Italy is not as culturally and religiously diverse as other countries, such as France, the United Kingdom and Germany. It still sees itself as mono-religious, and its laws and bureaucracy have legal and organisational gaps. We do not have a clear national law about wearing religious clothes at school, including the Islamic veil, at all.
Lombardy is the only region that has implemented regulations on this issue. Back in 2015, the regional government banned people wearing niqabs and burqas from entering hospitals and public offices. Earlier this year, some regional governor of the right-wing Lega party said that this should also apply to schools, arguing that these clothes are oppressive and prevent female students from integrating.
Yet, the veil case in Monfalcone has once again highlighted the fact that there is a legal vacuum in Italy when it comes to religious freedom. In fact, each institution is forced to take decisions on this individually because there are no common guidelines.
Ideological reasons
Italian evangelicals have been fighting for a long time for a law that would finally regulate relations between the state and religious minorities. Such regulations would help all institutions implement standard behaviour protocols without the risk of being attacked or supported by politicians for ideological reasons.
The protection of religious minorities cannot remain an ideological battle to be used in electoral campaigns. Even if, as we have seen, each European state has different legislation based on a different worldview.
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