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Italian Minister Blasts British Plan To Let Schools Ban The Niqab
(AKI) - Italy's social solidarity minister Paolo Ferrero has slammed planned British government guidelines for schools that would allow head teachers to ban the face-veil or niqab and prevent pupils covering their faces on "safety, security and teaching" grounds. "This seems very stupid," said Ferrero. "Without being in favour of the full veil, bans only create barriers rather than aiding dialogue. Cultural change needs to occur gradually," he said, quoted by Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Thursday.The new uniform policy, being put out to consultation among headteachers and parents and unveiled on Tuesday by Britain's education minister Alan Johnson, does not appear to stop girls wearing a headscarf. But not all politicians and religious leaders in Italy agree with Johnson's argument that safety, security and effective teaching must take priority over tolerance of children's religious and cultural beliefs and that it is for teachers to judge whether it is necessary to see a pupil's face to teach them effectively and safely. Posted by: Fred 2007-03-23 |
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