Turkey | 09.02.2008 /d.welle
Turkey Lifts Ban on Headscarves at University
Two headscarf-wearing women in Istanbul
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: They will soon be allowed to study at university with their headscarves
Turkey's parliament voted to lift a ban on female students wearing the Muslim headscarf at university in a landmark decision that critics fear will undermine the state's secular foundations.
Amid large demonstrations by secularists on the streets of the capital Ankara, Turkey's parliament on Saturday, Feb 9, resoundingly approved constitutional changes aimed at lifting a ban on female students wearing the Muslim headscarf.
"The proposal to change the constitution has been approved. I hope this will be the best for Turkey and hope it is done in a spirit of tolerance and reconciliation," parliamentary speaker Koksal Toptan said after the vote.
Turkey's Parliament, where Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan center-right AK Party has a big majority, approved the constitutional amendments by 411 votes to 103.
Passions running high
The headscarf has triggered strong emotions in Turkey with the country's old secular elite sharply at odds with Erdogan's AK party, which has Islamist roots, over the issue.
Ermine Erdogan, the wife of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan with a security officialBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Erdogan's wife Emine, seen here with a security official, wears the headscarf
Erdogan's party says the headscarf ban is an unfair denial of individual rights and religious liberty and discriminates against women. Almost two thirds of women in Turkey cover their heads. Erdogan's wife and daughters wear the headscarf as do those of President Abdullah Gul and many other members of the AK Party.
Turkey's old secular elite, who see themselves as upholders of modern Turkey's founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's secular legacy, strongly oppose the lifting of the ban on the headscarf. They see it as a slow slide towards an Islamist state.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of Turks demonstrated in downtown Ankara, not far from the parliament building, to protest against the constitutional amendment.
"Turkey is secular and will remain secular," shouted some. A majority of the demonstrators, who were waving the red and white star and crescent flag of Turkey and bearing portraits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, were women, including some who wore headscarves.
Secular Turks protesting in Ankara against moves to relax the ban on the headscarfBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Secularist groups protested in large numbers in Ankara
Some were wearing headbands that read "We are following your oath" along with pictures of Ataturk, who set up the republic in 1923 on the strict separation of state and religion.
The headscarf ban in Turkey dates back to the 1980s. It was tightened in 1997 when the country's powerful army, with public support, ousted a government they considered too Islamist.
Opinion polls however show that a majority of Turks are in favor of easing the ban. The rerform doesn't include female professors or civil servants who will still be subject to the headscarf ban.
DW staff (sp)
Two headscarf-wearing women in Istanbul
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: They will soon be allowed to study at university with their headscarves
Turkey's parliament voted to lift a ban on female students wearing the Muslim headscarf at university in a landmark decision that critics fear will undermine the state's secular foundations.
Amid large demonstrations by secularists on the streets of the capital Ankara, Turkey's parliament on Saturday, Feb 9, resoundingly approved constitutional changes aimed at lifting a ban on female students wearing the Muslim headscarf.
"The proposal to change the constitution has been approved. I hope this will be the best for Turkey and hope it is done in a spirit of tolerance and reconciliation," parliamentary speaker Koksal Toptan said after the vote.
Turkey's Parliament, where Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan center-right AK Party has a big majority, approved the constitutional amendments by 411 votes to 103.
Passions running high
The headscarf has triggered strong emotions in Turkey with the country's old secular elite sharply at odds with Erdogan's AK party, which has Islamist roots, over the issue.
Ermine Erdogan, the wife of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan with a security officialBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Erdogan's wife Emine, seen here with a security official, wears the headscarf
Erdogan's party says the headscarf ban is an unfair denial of individual rights and religious liberty and discriminates against women. Almost two thirds of women in Turkey cover their heads. Erdogan's wife and daughters wear the headscarf as do those of President Abdullah Gul and many other members of the AK Party.
Turkey's old secular elite, who see themselves as upholders of modern Turkey's founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's secular legacy, strongly oppose the lifting of the ban on the headscarf. They see it as a slow slide towards an Islamist state.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of Turks demonstrated in downtown Ankara, not far from the parliament building, to protest against the constitutional amendment.
"Turkey is secular and will remain secular," shouted some. A majority of the demonstrators, who were waving the red and white star and crescent flag of Turkey and bearing portraits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, were women, including some who wore headscarves.
Secular Turks protesting in Ankara against moves to relax the ban on the headscarfBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Secularist groups protested in large numbers in Ankara
Some were wearing headbands that read "We are following your oath" along with pictures of Ataturk, who set up the republic in 1923 on the strict separation of state and religion.
The headscarf ban in Turkey dates back to the 1980s. It was tightened in 1997 when the country's powerful army, with public support, ousted a government they considered too Islamist.
Opinion polls however show that a majority of Turks are in favor of easing the ban. The rerform doesn't include female professors or civil servants who will still be subject to the headscarf ban.
DW staff (sp)
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