STANBUL, Turkey - Turkey's ruling party agreed with an opposition party Monday to lift a decades-old ban on Islamic head scarves in universities of the mainly Muslim but secular nation.
ADVERTISEMENT
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party and the Nationalist Action Party said in a joint statement that the two parties agreed to make changes in the constitution and the Higher Education Law to allow female students wearing head scarves into universities.
A constitutional change would need a two-thirds majority in the 550-seat assembly. The two parties have more than enough legislators.
Wearing of head scarves in universities was first banned shortly after a military coup in 1980 but implementation of the ban has varied over the years.
Erdogan, who is a devout Muslim, vowed to end the ban during his election campaign last summer. He scored a resounding victory against the secularist opposition.
The staunchly secularist Republican People's Party has repeatedly said lifting the ban would harm the nation's secular traditions.
The Republican's deputy chair, Onur Oymen, citing an earlier decision by the Constitutional Court on the ban, said the constitutional amendments planned by the ruling and nationalist parties would not be enough to allow scarf-clad students into universities.
When Erdogan first proposed Abdullah Gul, an observant Muslim, for president in April, the military issued a statement that hinted at intervention.
The ensuing crisis forced Erdogan to call an early general election. The ruling party's landslide victory resurrected Gul's presidential bid and Parliament voted him into the post in August.
Secularists unsuccessfully opposed Gul's candidacy partly because his wife wears a head scarf. She challenged Turkey's head scarf ban at the European Court of Human Rights — after being barred from university in 1998 — only to withdraw her complaint when her husband became foreign minister.
Nobody is saying that because it would be a political suicide. I dont really believe anymore that a religious party wouldnt try to change the laws and base them on religion if they had a way to get away with it. Its already bad enough sign that they go ahead and try to break the constitution as the ruling party.
Yes, breaking the constitution is wrong. If the courts have decided that lifting a headscarf ban would be unconstitutional, so be it.
Still, the banning of religious symbols/religious dress in general is a silly concept that is at odds with democratic freedoms. It's a shame that the Turkish constitution includes this concept.
There is just so much at stage and so many bad examples on the neighbourhood of what happens when the religious parties do get to rule with the power to make laws based on religion. Add to that we see regularly people justifying and cheering such laws that limit freedoms, lashes to person who meets non-family member of opposite sex, punishments for sexual minorities, death penalty for those who choose to not believe anymore.
Nobody is asking for all that. Simply the right for a woman to wear what she wills. It's ironic that this is not allowed considering Turkey's Muslim majority. In the UK for instance, women are rightly allowed to wear whatever they want (as long as they're not indecently exposing themselves, naturally).
Turkey isnt perfect (no country really is), but I wouldnt be willing to risk it if I was Turkish secular. Personally Im starting to think the separation of state and religion like in Turkey or France is the way to go.
I disagree. In this case, isn't a ban on headscarves in public places such as universities a curtailment of freedom of expression?
Also, in France, it's not just Muslim headscarves, but also Sikh turbans. What is the justification for this? That some people take offence to it? That people who wear such things 'don't fit in'? Revealingly, people in France are allowed to wear small crucifixes, which show that secularism is not truly the motive for such measures.
Being the cynical person I am, I'm willing to bet it's simply bitterness on the part of a portion of secularists - 'if you give these religious people an inch, they'll take a mile' sort of thing. Not all secularists are like this, obviously. It's just that's what appears to be the motive in these kinds of things rather than some sort of altruism.
On a sidenote, what is it actually? A dresscode in goverment buildings.
Universties.
Such horrid and paranoid abuse of power is done by virtually every country in the world.
Not really. A woman or a man can wear what he or she likes in universities in most countries. Sometimes, there are health and safety issues in the workplace, but these tend to only affect employees, not members of the general public.
I'm very glad the UK and the US for that matter do not make it illegal to wear a headscarf or a turban in public.
yeah even im in a state of shock about the ban on hijab
n yeah true said sis sumeeyye we shud pray
"O Muslims! If anyone among you worshipped Ramadan, then know that Ramadan is dead. But those of you who worshipped Allah, then know that Allah lives and will never die. Indeed Allah created Ramadan and He also, in truth, created Shawaal, Dhul Qidah, Dhul Hijjah, and all the rest of the Months..."
What is the current status of the hijab ban in Turkey, especially in more religious areas such as Ankara?
Is Turkey a recommended country for a Muslim to move to?
Same old. No hijab in official government establishments, ie, universities, hospitals etc. There is no regional discrepency.
90 something % of Turkey is muslim. Regardless of what you hear on tv, it is an insanely islamic country. But I must admit, that does depend on where you go. You have your non-practising turkish muslims and then your practising ones. Simple really. You hear the adhan bellow through all of Turkey at prayer times, there is atleast one mosque on almost every street throughout the country. You must keep in mind that this is a country with an official headcount of 75million. I mean....you have all sorts of people living thoughout Turkey. The government cannot possibly represent the whole nation.
Hope that wasn't too off track.
Peace.
"'Cause I hear the whispered words
In your masterpiece beautiful
You speak the unspeakable through
I love you too"
What is the current status of the hijab ban in Turkey, especially in more religious areas such as Ankara?
Many universities don't make it a problem generally in practice-at least my university didn't make, though I don't know what they do nowadays- but it is still banned in the other public places.
By the way Ankara is not count a religious area of Turkey.There are more religious areas but the implementation doesn't change.
format_quote Originally Posted by rpwelton
Is Turkey a recommended country for a Muslim to move to?
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
Turkey: Plan to lift ban on head scarves (OP)
Quote
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Bookmarks