Turkish MPs plan headscarf reform

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Turkish MPs plan headscarf reform

Two major parties in Turkey say they will submit a joint plan to parliament to ease a ban on the Islamic headscarf in universities.

The Islamist-rooted governing AK Party and the nationalist MHP say it is an issue of human rights and freedoms.

The two parties have enough votes in parliament to overturn the constitutional ban on headscarves.

A strict headscarf ban has been in force in universities since 1997. It was ordered by the secularist military.

The issue is highly controversial in a mainly Muslim country whose secular elite - including the military - sees the headscarf as a symbol of political Islam, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says.

The move to ease the ban has been criticised by judges and university officials.

MHP leader Devlet Bahceli said the joint plan would be submitted to parliament later on Tuesday.

"Solving the headscarf issue would relax a large segment of the society," Mr Bahceli was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

"It is a question of rights and freedoms," he added.

The reforms are a compromise though, our correspondent says.

The proposed changes state that only traditional scarves will be permitted in universities, tied loosely under the chin.

Headscarves that cover the neck, like those worn by many Turkish girls, will still be banned, as will the all-covering burka, or chador.

Power struggle

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stressed that this reform will be restricted to universities.

It will not apply to women civil servants, including teachers, who are still banned from covering their heads.

A power struggle last year between secular forces and the governing AK Party ended with the AKP being comprehensively re-elected in July.

So far, there has been no comment from Turkey's powerful army, which sees itself as the guardian of the secular tradition laid out by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - the creator of the modern Turkish state.

Opinion polls suggest there is strong public support for lifting the ban. And some women refuse to go to university because of it.

BBC News

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Joie de Vivre — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 - 22:16

MuslimBroIt's hard to imagine how Turkey was the heart of the Ottoman Empire when you look at it today.

That's what you get with secularism.

Ah, empire. Those were the days, eh?

Sirus — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 - 00:10

It is truly a sad state turkey finds itself in

these kamal attaturk supporters need their head checking

ive heard about these so called 'progressive muslims' who believe that because islam is in the heart (internal) and not external etc.....they are allowed to have a drink with work or at a party, once a week kinda thing

astagfirullah!!

MuslimBro — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 - 00:27

Turks protest over headscarf plan

Thousands of Turks have rallied in Ankara to protest against a government plan to allow women to wear the Islamic headscarf in Turkish universities.

The protestors fear such a move would usher in a stricter form of Islam in Turkey, which is a secular state.

Turkey's parliament is expected to approve a constitutional amendment to ease the ban next week.

The ban on the headscarf in higher education was imposed in the 1980s, and has been enforced for the past decade.

A huge crowd gathered at the mausoleum of Ataturk - the man who founded Turkey as a modern, secular republic.

Fearing the gains of his revolution are in danger, the protestors came waving Ataturk's image on banners and carrying the national flag.

link

Sirus — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 - 14:36

the way turkey is heading, thats not going to happen

the current party in rule are supposed to be more 'islamic' than the others, and they want to simply allow it in Uni's only...and even then, loosely worn and tied around the bottom of the neck

there are way too many secularists in turkey, its not gona get any better

Funzo — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 - 18:23

Its so stupid how will a few women wearing head scarfs introduce radical islam? Surely there must be some sort of right people have to wear what they want?

Ya'qub — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 - 21:51

NazCan you not wear the headscarf in Turkey full stop or is it just in some parts of Turkey that you cant?

most Turkish women wear some kind of a head scarf (although not very often full hijab tied around the neck; they tend to just cover their head like old ladies do in Britain), but you can't get a government job if you wear one and you can't go to uni with it on either.