Turks divided by headscarf vote
Saturday, 09 Feb 2008 10:10
All change in Turkey
Turkish women will be allowed to wear headscarves while at university following a constitutional amendment passed today.
The move is a significant one for fiercely secular Turkey and paves the way for a relaxation of its strict divide between government and religion.
A two-thirds majority was successfully achieved for the first vote, last night, before a second parliamentary meeting this morning to rubber-stamp the proposed amendments.
The ruling Justice and Development party (AK) has long been suspected of an Islamist stance but prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has insisted the move will help many women into higher education.
Secularists are concerned the move will place social pressure on those women not already covering up to do so, however.
They are planning a demonstration in Ankara to protest against the vote. Hakki Suha Okay of the opposition Republican People's party, said the reform "aims to render the principle of secularism ineffective".
The headscarf ban was introduced after a 1980 military coup. Analysts fear further moves towards the integration of religion into public life may tempt the army into another.