Turkish lawmakers set to approve headscarf reform

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

ANKARA (AFP) — Turkish lawmakers met Saturday to approve the scrapping of a ban on Islamic headscarves at universities, as crowds gathered for a mass rally expected to show the depth of public opposition to the move.

The constitutional reform package was tabled by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on the grounds that the ban -- imposed after the 1980 military coup -- is a violation of the freedom of conscience and the right to education.

But secularists -- among them the army, the judiciary and academics -- say lifting the ban will undermine the strict separation of state and religion in the mainly Muslim country, a basic tenet of the 84-year-old republic.

More than 70 trade unions and non-governmental organisations have called a rally to...