Turkey's Big Dilemma: Headscarf Ban

ODTÜ rector says they will go to the European court if the headscarf is allowed in universities

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

University rectors have mobilized against the possibility of the new constitution allowing students with headscarves to enter university facilities, saying that they intend to take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary, reported the daily Hürriyet yesterday. The Rectors' Committee, an advisory board of all university rectors, will meet today to discuss the amendments proposed by the Justice and Development Party (AKP). The committee will be chaired by fiercely secularist Higher Education Board (YÖK) Chairman, Professor Erdoğan Teziç, who has quarreled over the issue with the government in the past. Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) Rector Professor Ural Akbulut criticized the government's handling of the efforts to create a new constitution, and said, “it could have been more democratic.” He said there was no urgent need to change the Constitution and called for a broader reflection on the necessary amendments. The headscarf is a religious symbol and should not be allowed in educational institutions, and once allowed in universities, those who do not wear headscarves will feel pressure, he added. “We have seen it everywhere in the region. In Libya, there is no law about not covering oneself. However, over 20 years, all girls in universities covered themselves due to pressure,” he said. Any incremental sacrifice on secularism will bring about bigger changes, said Akbulut, adding that there are no gray areas when it comes to secularism. İnönü University Rector Fatih Hilmioğlu told Hürriyet that there had been a headscarf problem in the past but it was now solved. “Students got used to it. Any change will drag Turkey to chaos,” he said. Member of YÖK, Enver Hasanoğlu, said he did not believe there will be any changes concerning the dress code at universities, adding, “we will discuss the issue if anything changes.”

The Republican People's Party (CHP) opposes any changes on the issue and its Istanbul deputy, Professor Nur Serter, said once the headscarf is allowed Islamists will increase pressure on girls.

Source: http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=83798