Turkish parliament debates divisive headscarf reform

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

ANKARA (AFP) — Turkish MPs held a heated debate Wednesday on a proposal to allow women to wear Islamic headscarves in universities, a move that has pitted the Islamist-rooted government against secularist forces.

The proposal was tabled by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which argues that an existing ban on headscarves -- imposed after a 1980 military coup -- violates freedom of conscience and the right to education.

The move to overturn the ban has angered secularists, including the army, judiciary and academics, who see the headscarf as a symbol of defiance against the strict separation of state and religion, one of the founding principles of the 84-year-old republic.

Wednesday's session saw opposition and government lawmakers trading...