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Headscarf controversy in Turkey

Atatürk and an old woman in çarşaf

The headscarf controversy in Turkey was a 20th and early 21st century controversy about women wearing Islamic headscarves. The Republic of Turkey had been a secular state since the constitutional amendment of 1937. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk introduced the secularization of the state in the Turkish Constitution of 1924, alongside his reforms. Over 90% of Turkey's population is Muslim,[1][2] and 30-40% of women veil.[3] [4] and the suppression of hijab/headscarves and other prominent religious symbols in government institutions and public schools, (similar to policies in France, Quebec and Mexico)[5] led to heated controversy at times in Turkey. Specifically, it resulted in a clash between those favoring the secular principles of the state, such as the Turkish Armed Forces,[6] and religious conservatives, including Islamists. In the early 21st century, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reversed this,[7] and worked to "raise a pious generation" in Turkey.[8]

Atatürk never forbade the headscarf (the dominant form of hijab in Turkey, where it is called başörtüsü meaning head cover), but didn't encourage its use either.[9] The headscarf was banned in public institutions because of the 'public clothing regulation' issued after the 1980 coup and began to be implemented in a radical way after the 1997 military memorandum.[9] However, the ban on the headscarf for public personnel was lifted by the democratization package in 2013. Restrictive provisions were lifted with the amendment made in article 5 of the dress code regulation,[9] but remained in effect in the military, police force and judiciary.[10] In 2022 both Turkey's Islamist government and the formerly secular opposition vowed to take "legal steps to enshrine women's right to wear Islamic headscarves".[11]

  1. ^ Nişancı, Zübeyir (21 March 2023). Ayşe Betül Aydın; Hatice Nur Keskin (eds.). Faith and Religiosity in Türkiye (PDF). Marmara University. ISBN 978-1-64205-906-9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 23 Aug 2023.
  2. ^ Çiçek, Nevzat (26 March 2023). ""Türkiye'de İnanç ve Dindarlık" araştırması yayımlandı: Dindarlaştık mı, sekülerleştik mi?" ["Faith and Religiosity in Turkey" research was published: Have we become religious or secularized?] (in Turkish). indyturk.com.
  3. ^ Fromm, Ali Çarkoğlu, Binnaz Toprak; translated from Turkish by Çiğdem Aksoy (2007). Religion, Society and Politics in a Changing Turkey (PDF). Karaköy, İstanbul: TESEV publications. p. 64. ISBN 978-975-8112-90-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ https://archive.ph/20130615114149/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5is4od4JJaJenUAvqG9kqXN44DZzA?docId=CNG.da2764e86cb62e559ce333c0ceb4bcc0.491
  5. ^ Hardy, Roger (22 July 2002). "Turkey: Battle of the headscarf". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2017-03-15. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Turkey's Mrs Gul given makeover". BBC News. August 2007. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  7. ^ "Court rules Student Oath should be reinstated in Turkey". Ahval. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  8. ^ Gall, Carlotta (18 June 2018). "Erdogan's Plan to Raise a 'Pious Generation' Divides Parents in Turkey". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "Türkiye'de başörtüsü yasağı: Nasıl başladı, nasıl çözüldü?". Archived from the original on 2017-03-25. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
  10. ^ Sebnem Arsu; Dan Bilefsky (8 October 2013). "Turkey Lifts Longtime Ban on Head Scarves in State Offices". The New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  11. ^ Nevzat Devranoglu and Daren Butler (5 October 2022). "Islamic headscarf returns to heart of Turkish political debate". Reuters. Retrieved 19 February 2023.

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جدل الحجاب في تركيا Arabic Polèmica turca sobre el vel Catalan حجاب در ترکیه FA 튀르키예의 머리쓰개 금지 논란 Korean Türkiye'de başörtüsü yasağı Turkish

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