Scarves: a long trail

Background: Headscarves were first banned in schools and universities in Turkey in 1980 by the armed forces following a coup.

Background: Headscarves were first banned in schools and universities in Turkey in 1980 by the armed forces following a coup. They said they wanted to carry on the secular ethos which the country had inherited from its founder Kamal Ataturk.

Recent developments: Lifting of the ban was first proposed by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, a devout Muslim, in 2002, but he could not go ahead because he did not have the requisite majority.

In April 2006, Erdogan first proposed the name of then foreign minister Abdullah Gul, also an observant Muslim with a wife who wears a head scarf, for president. This provoked the military to issue a statement hinting at intervention. The ensuing crisis forced Erdogan to call an early general election. The ruling party8217;s landslide victory resurrected Gul8217;s presidential bid and parliament voted him into the post in August.

Gul8217;s wife incidentally had challenged the head scarf ban at the European Court of Human Rights 8212; after being barred from university in 1998 8212; only to withdraw her complaint when her husband became foreign minister.

On Monday, Erdogan8217;s Justice and Development Party AKP and the far-right Nationalist Action Party MHP reached an agreement on the head scarf ban, and on Tuesday, submitted a draft amendment to parliament. These two parties have two-thirds majority in parliament. The move to lift the ban also has the support of Gul.

Implications: The move has sparked off a debate between the secularists and Islamists. The secularists fear it could lead to a fresh wave of Islamisation and damage the country8217;s international standing as a liberal state 8212; in fact, many are of the opinion that this may even spoil Turkey8217;s chances of EU membership. Others are afraid women who don8217;t want to wear scarves may be forced to wear them.

Those on the right, however, are of the view that freedom to practise one8217;s faith is important and that the liberals are using secularism as a means to retain power among themselves and converting Turkey into a plutocracy.

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Public Opinion: Polls show overwhelming support for lifting of the ban on head scarves