Although there is no constitutional ban on the headscarf, currently Turkish rectors use a past Constitutional Court ruling that classifies the headscarf as a violation of secularism as grounds not to allow women wearing the headscarf to attend university. Parliament on Thursday voted in the first round by a large majority to ease the decades-old ban on the wearing of the headscarf at public universities. Today's second-round vote is likely to have a similar result.
The package's first amendment makes changes to Article 10 of the Constitution, which concerns equality before the law, and received 401 "yes" votes in the first round. There were 110 nays and one abstention. The second item amends Article 42, pertaining to the right to education, and received more support, with 404 deputies voting in favor and only 99 deputies opposing.
If the package receives similar support in the second round, it will go into effect. If one of the constitutional amendments receives between 330 and 367 votes, it will be taken directly to referendum. President Abdullah Gül is entitled to take the package to referendum even if it is supported by more than 367 deputies but has stated that he will not do so with amendments concerning fundamental rights and freedoms.
The package was backed by deputies from the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). It also received support from some pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) deputies, while the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Democratic Left Party (DSP) voted against the package.
Parliamentary deliberations on the package before voting were intense. As the debates began, CHP members claimed the package is unconstitutional, saying that this point should be discussed first. The AK Party views were voiced by its female deputies.
In the heated debate Bekir Bozdağ, deputy chairman of the ruling AK Party, said the bill would strengthen Turkey's characteristic principle of secularism. "Giving an equal right to education to every citizen is not against the state of law and democracy," he said. "Isn't secularism the guarantee for everyone who wants to benefit from the equal right to education?" But Hakkı Suha Okay, a CHP member, said the package "aims to weaken the principle of secularism." He added, "This step will encourage radical [Islamic] circles in Turkey, accelerate movement towards a state founded on religion and lead to further demands."
Deniz Baykal, leader of the CHP, which voted against the proposal, said he would challenge the government in the Constitutional Court, which could delay implementation of the new law indefinitely in the event of it prompting a protracted political and legal battle. The CHP is expected to apply to the Constitutional Court on Monday.
Meanwhile, some 70 women's organizations and neo-nationalist groups will be protesting against the removal of the headscarf ban today.
Minorities bill suspended for now
The AK Party, in order to prevent a last-minute withdrawal of the MHP's support, has decided to postpone talks on passing a bill known as the Foundations Law, which, if passed, would return property and assets confiscated by the state from non-Muslim religious foundations. Most nationalists, including the MHP, oppose the bill, saying it gives too many rights to Turkey's religious minorities. However, it is seen by the European Union as a change vital to Turkey's membership talks.
Bar associations divided over headscarf
Rectors of universities have already made opposing Web site declarations over whether the headscarf should be allowed into schools or not, and bar associations across Turkey are likely to join them as Özdemir Özok, head of the Turkish Bar Association (TBB), announced plans to convene a meeting on the constitutional amendment package being voted on today.
Furthermore, 13 bar associations -- those of Kayseri, Sivas, Trabzon, Malatya, Çorum, Kahramanmaraş, Rize, Elazığ, Afyonkarahisar, Gümüşhane, Osmaniye, Burdur and Düzce - have issued a joint declaration condemning the ban. "As in every democratic state of law, we believe that the freedom to be able to chose what to wear should be allowed to all students, regardless of their religion, beliefs, ideas, ethnic group or gender," the declaration read.
Pamuk: headscarf not a fundamentalist symbol
Turkey's sole Nobel laureate, novelist Orhan Pamuk, has also commented on the headscarf issue. Speaking to an Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, Pamuk said: "The headscarf has nothing to do with religious fundamentalism. This is a tradition. It is wrong to impose solutions from above. Turkey's real issues are different."
Benzer Haberler 
Politics
