Turkish MPs Give Nod to Divisive Headscarf Reform
The Turkish parliament early Thursday adopted a constitutional amendment allowing women to wear Islamic headscarves in universities, a move that is strongly opposed by secularists and still has to be ratified.
Assembly deputy speaker Nevzat Pakdil announced that two votes by secret ballot easily achieved the two-thirds majority necessary to modify the constitution. The ban on headscarves in universities has been implemented in varying degrees over the years, forcing many women to abandon their education and others to hide their headscarves under wigs to attend classes. The key amendment said that "no one can be deprived of their right to higher education", an allusion to young women who wear headscarves. A final vote was held in the wee hours of Thursday on all the changes to be made to the basic law at the end of a heated marathon session that lasted over 13 hours.
A second round of voting was expected on Saturday to finalize the revisions of the constitution proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which argues that the existing ban on headscarves -- imposed after a 1980 military coup -- violates freedom of conscience and the right to education. The move to overturn the ban has angered secularists, including the army, judiciary and academics, who see the headscarf as a symbol of defiance against the strict separation of state and religion, one of the founding principles of the 84-year-old republic.
Wednesday's session saw opposition and government lawmakers trading personal barbs and accusing each other of political opportunism, forcing the speaker to adjourn the session at least once. The package "aims to render the principle of secularism ineffective," Hakki Suha Okay of the strictly secular main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told the assembly.
"This step will encourage radical (Islamic) circles in Turkey, accelerate movement towards a state founded on religion, lead to further demands" against the spirit of the republic, he said. The CHP has already threatend to challenge the reform in court if it is adopted. The Democratic Society Party, the country's main Kurdish party, also opposed the reform, with MP Aysel Tugluk arguing that it would only "lead to chaos and more problems rather than solve any". The AKP had the backing of the opposition Nationalist Action Party and the two together had enough votes to secure the two-thirds majority of 367 votes in the 550-seat parliament to amend the constitution.
Parliament will hold a final vote on the package Saturday before it is sent to President Abdullah Gul for approval. Gul was a member of the AKP before being elected head of state last year and has yet to veto any law forwarded to him by the government.
The constitution would be amended to read that the state will treat everyone equally when it provides services such as university courses, and that no one can be barred from education for reasons not clearly laid down by law. Secularists, who distrust the AKP because of its roots in a banned Islamist party, fear that easing the restriction on headscarves will put social pressure on women to cover up and pave the way for a gradual lifting of a similar ban in public institutions, such as government offices and high schools.
More than 125,000 people demonstrated against the project Saturday at the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Just hours ahead of Wednesday's session, several hundred protestors from civic bodies and trade unions gathered near the parliament gates demanding that the government withdraw the reform. The AKP says it is fully committed to secularism and has pledged to protect the rights of every citizen, regardless of their political and religious convictions.
AFP
A second round of voting was expected on Saturday to finalize the revisions of the constitution proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which argues that the existing ban on headscarves -- imposed after a 1980 military coup -- violates freedom of conscience and the right to education. The move to overturn the ban has angered secularists, including the army, judiciary and academics, who see the headscarf as a symbol of defiance against the strict separation of state and religion, one of the founding principles of the 84-year-old republic.
Wednesday's session saw opposition and government lawmakers trading personal barbs and accusing each other of political opportunism, forcing the speaker to adjourn the session at least once. The package "aims to render the principle of secularism ineffective," Hakki Suha Okay of the strictly secular main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told the assembly.
"This step will encourage radical (Islamic) circles in Turkey, accelerate movement towards a state founded on religion, lead to further demands" against the spirit of the republic, he said. The CHP has already threatend to challenge the reform in court if it is adopted. The Democratic Society Party, the country's main Kurdish party, also opposed the reform, with MP Aysel Tugluk arguing that it would only "lead to chaos and more problems rather than solve any". The AKP had the backing of the opposition Nationalist Action Party and the two together had enough votes to secure the two-thirds majority of 367 votes in the 550-seat parliament to amend the constitution.
Parliament will hold a final vote on the package Saturday before it is sent to President Abdullah Gul for approval. Gul was a member of the AKP before being elected head of state last year and has yet to veto any law forwarded to him by the government.
The constitution would be amended to read that the state will treat everyone equally when it provides services such as university courses, and that no one can be barred from education for reasons not clearly laid down by law. Secularists, who distrust the AKP because of its roots in a banned Islamist party, fear that easing the restriction on headscarves will put social pressure on women to cover up and pave the way for a gradual lifting of a similar ban in public institutions, such as government offices and high schools.
More than 125,000 people demonstrated against the project Saturday at the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Just hours ahead of Wednesday's session, several hundred protestors from civic bodies and trade unions gathered near the parliament gates demanding that the government withdraw the reform. The AKP says it is fully committed to secularism and has pledged to protect the rights of every citizen, regardless of their political and religious convictions.
AFP
