Muslim female students have finally enjoyed the freedom to veil in Turkish universities. "I feel happy that I don't have to stop at a mosque in the middle of my trip and change into my wig," Yasemin Derbaz told the BBC (31/12).
Over the years, Derbaz used to hide her headscarf before stepping onto campus. Every time she entered university, she had to stop first at a nearby mosque to replace her headscarf with a wig in order to be allowed into the campus.
Now, however, this has changed after the government issued a stern warning to universities banning the headscarf on campus.
In September, the Higher Education Council ordered Istanbul University, one of the largest in the country, to end its headscarf ban. The regulations cover almost all Turkish universities.
Since then, Derbaz has fully been able to attend her architectural classes at Yildiz Technical University wearing her head scarf.
Since 1980, the headscarf has been banned in public buildings, universities, schools and government buildings in Turkey's Muslim-majority country.
In 2007, Emine Erdogan, wife of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was barred from entering a military hospital for refusing to remove her headscarf.
The ban on the headscarf was made easier in 2008 as a result of a compromise between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition Nationalist Action Party (MHP). Under the agreement, Muslim women at the university were allowed to cover their heads by tying the veil in the traditional way under the chin.
Secularists argue that the headscarf ban is aimed at defending the secular roots of the Turkish state. "The reason why we don't allow a head scarf, said a judge, is that it is a religious symbol," said Hursit Gunes, a deputy secretary general of the party.
Experts warn that the anti-headscarf position among secularists often results in discrimination against veiled women.
"Once they get employment, they are discriminated against in relation to promotions, salaries and in relation to layoffs that companies have to decide to reduce the workforce," said Dilek Cindoglu, a sociologist at Bilkent University. (BBC / OnIslam / ddhongkong.org). *
