According to a news report published in the Star daily yesterday, Ankara Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Nuri Yiğit said wearing a headscarf in public areas is not defined as a crime in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and brings no sanctions, thereby deciding not to prosecute Hayrünnisa Gül and Emine Erdoğan.
Agreeing that there are no legal grounds to ban wearing the headscarf in public places, observers say this decision has confirmed that there is no such ban as defined by law. Political analyst Mümtaz’er Türköne underlined that the term “public sphere” is not mentioned in any law. “The headscarf ban in Turkey is a ban imposed by universities on university students and the state on its civil servants. In fact, from a legal perspective, it is possible to wear the headscarf in the public sphere. There is not ban against this,” he said.
Political scientist Doğu Ergil also says there is no law banning the wearing of a headscarf in the public sphere. “Since there is no such law, there are no sanctions, either. If the logic of this criminal compliant [against Hayrünnisa Gül and Emine Erdoğan] was in place in Turkey, the sons of covered women would not be conscripted and Parliament would be empty because the majority of the deputies are married to women who wear a headscarf,” he said.
Hüseyin Hatemi, a professor of law, says he applauds the decision. “There were people who were trying to make wearing the headscarf a crime. Wearing a headscarf is not defined as a crime in any law. I find this decision correct and applaud it,” he said. Experts also said this decision would set a precedent for similar complaints in the future.
The criminal complaint against Gül and Erdoğan was filed by Sultan Atıcı, who heads the Association of the Women of the Turkish Republic in Europe and resides in Germany. The complaint said Mrs. Gül and Mrs. Erdoğan were committing a crime by attending official meetings in Turkey and abroad while wearing a headscarf, “which is an example of religious clothing and is also a political symbol.”
