A 26-year-old Tunisian woman was approached by police and fined 500 euros [£430 or $648] for wearing a burqa in Novara [Piedmont] on Friday.
The woman was walking to Friday prayers in the Mosque in the suburb of Sant’Agabio with her husband and initial reports in Italy stated that she was outside a post office when police asked her to identify herself.
Later reports say that she was actually inside the post office and this is important, as the town’s bylaw prohibiting the burqa is based on a 1975 anti-terrorist law which bans the covering of the face in public buildings.
In theory, someone wearing a crash helmet in a public building could be arrested. Novara’s police chief Paolo Cortese says that the woman was inside the post office when approached by his officers
The bylaw was passed in January and Novara’s Northern League Mayor, Massimo Giordano, has said that it he signed the ordinance for security reasons but also to ensure that Italian values are respected. He added that the application of the bylaw is the only way to “stop behaviour that makes the difficult process of integration even harder”.
The woman’s husband did not allow her to lift her veil to identify herself to male police but allowed her to identify herself to a female police officer who was called to the scene. He says that he will pay the fine but that, if his wife cannot wear the burqa, he will have to confine her to the house.
There is some doubt as to whether the fine will actually be imposed because the bylaw brings other laws guaranteeing personal freedom into question. If the case proceeds, it will be the first time that such a penalty has been applied in Italy.
Meanwhile Izzedin Elzir, the head of the Islamic Community and Organisations Union in Italy, has said that his organisation is against the veil and for the freedom of women. He says that Italian laws must be respected by the Islamic community in Italy.
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Are there any laws about the wearing of the burqa where you are?
