CHP shoots self in foot with anti-chador protest

The protest was met with indignation from rights organizations, which condemned the CHP's intolerance toward religious attire. “That's a shameful picture for humanity. I do not know whether the protest makes any sense for the CHP, but to me, it is a source of shame,” remarked Rıdvan Kaya, head of the Freedom Association (Özgür-Der).

On Wednesday afternoon, a group of CHP members met in Mersin to commemorate the 86th anniversary of the abolishment of the Islamic caliphate. Among them were Havva Ongunsel, the head of the CHP women's branches, and the CHP provincial chairman in Mersin, Yılmaz Şanlı.

The group vowed to protect the principles of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.

The gathering suddenly turned into an anti-chador campaign when female participants started to tear into pieces and step on black chadors they took out of their purses. The chador is widely used both as traditional and religious attire in Anatolia.

“The use of the chador in Turkey dates back before the proclamation of the republic. However, it has frequently been a target of violent protests by the CHP. This is clearly enmity against Islam and disrespect toward the public’s values. Though the main opposition party has thus far claimed to be respectful toward women, the protest has revealed its true attitude. The protest also proved that the CHP was hypocritical in its chador initiative,” Kaya added.

In November 2008, CHP leader Deniz Baykal surprised everyone when he gave a woman wearing a chador a CHP badge. Baykal later accepted several chador-wearing women into the party ranks. The move, however, sparked discussions concerning the party’s credibility over its respect for religious clothing, with many interpreting the move as an attempt to win back the hearts of conservative voters ahead of the March 29, 2009 local elections.

Mersin supporters of the staunchly secular Republican People’s Party created controversy when they tore up and stomped on pieces of black cloth in a move many have considered an insult to the chador worn by many women for both traditional and religious regions throughout Anatolia.

The main opposition party had appealed a constitutional amendment package that would have lifted the ban on wearing headscarves on university campuses in 2008. The CHP believes that the use of the headscarf in the public sphere would damage secularism.

In the face of growing criticism, CHP’s Yılmaz told reporters yesterday that chadors torn into pieces during the protest had nothing to do with conservative women’s headscarves or chadors. “Those were black cloths, symbolizing black clouds that fell on the nation before the War of Independence. Those cloths did not symbolize women’s chadors or headscarves,” he noted.

The anti-chador protest was met with harsh criticism from CHP deputies, too. The party’s İstanbul deputy Mehmet Sevigen said no one should be allowed to disrespect chador-wearing women with such a protest. “Everyone should respect other people’s choices. Clothes worn due to religion cannot be looked down upon. What is important for us is not the external appearance of heads. What is important is what is inside the heads. Everyone should think in this way,” Sevigen remarked.

On Thursday, an intra-party disciplinary action was launched against participants of the controversial protest.

Another CHP İstanbul deputy, Çetin Soysal, maintained that every citizen has the right to wear any clothes s/he desires. “We do not appreciate such a protest. We are not in a position to judge people due to their attire. The republican reforms and principles of Atatürk cannot be protected through the tearing of chadors,” he noted.

The CHP’s anti-chador protest in Mersin is, however, not the first of its kind. Several party members attacked an elderly woman wearing a chador who wanted to get on a bus carrying Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a CHP deputy, last March.

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç lashed out at the CHP administration for the Mersin protest, terming it “ugly.” “CHP members who had honored covered women with party badges tore chadors into pieces. We do not believe the [CHP Mersin provincial chairman’s] excuse. We expect a statement and reaction from Baykal,” he told reporters.

Emin Atmaca, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the CHP’s “chador initiative,” complained about his party’s insincerity toward the chador and covered women. He also claimed that the CHP administration knew that the chador-tearing protest would occur. According to Atmaca, the CHP grassroots members are strongly against steps by the party to thaw the ice with conservatives. “Many CHP supporters were angry at the party’s chador initiative. Most of them said they do not want to see chador-wearing women in the party,” he noted.