The Headscarf Ban in Turkey and the EU

Published: 23-3-2005

The Headscarf Ban in Turkey and the EU

"We have collected signatures to protest the headscarf ban in Turkey and to seek a peaceful solution to the problem. The signatures below are only of symbolic nature. We consider the restrictions on the exercise of religious duties a great injustice, crime against humanity and violation of human rights. Turkey is party to all human rights conventions. Equality and education rights of pious women who wear headscarves should be recognized. Finding a solution to the problem as soon as possible is your responsibility as well, and carries significance in terms of global peace. We urgently await your response…"

This petition, with exactly 10,000 signatures, was submitted to the European Union (EU) Commission's representative office in Ankara on March 14, 2004. Those who collected the 10,000 signatures were people who had marched from Urfa to Ankara in 43 days between October 22 and December 3, in order to protest the headscarf ban and to demand its repeal. I talked to the representatives of the marchers. They told me that they will continue their campaign against the headscarf ban by visiting parliamentarians, holding press conferences, staging peaceful demonstrations, and drawing the EU Commission's attention to the problem was part of this campaign.

I appreciate the statements by the speakers for the EU protesting the unacceptable brutality exercised by the police against women activists while trying to disperse an illegal demonstration that was held on March 6. I believe that the European Parliament (EP) resolution protesting the events will help prevent the police from using such brutal force in the future. I also believe that speakers for the EU institutions by raising their criticisms are fulfilling their responsibilities towards the consolidation of a democracy in Turkey. I have, however, great difficulty in understanding how the speakers and institutions of the EU remain indifferent to the totally anti-democratic headscarf ban in Turkey and to people who are demanding the lifting of that ban which extends to the absurdity of not allowing spouses of ministers wearing headscarves in certain public buildings.

I wholeheartedly share the criticisms put forward by the EU Commission and the EU Council in their reports and resolutions concerning Turkey about the restrictions on the religious rights of Alevi and non - Muslim citizens. I can, however, only explain why these restrictions on the religious rights of the Sunni majority incompatible with a democratic society are never mentioned in the EU reports and resolutions by prejudices that regard Islam as more fanatical than other religions and Muslims more intolerant than others.

I am unable to understand how the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) responsible for supervising the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights signed by the European Council member states, managed to find the headscarf ban in Turkish universities compatible with the convention, let alone common sense. I believe that ECHR only avoided responsibility by saying "The authority to decide on this issue rests with the national courts."

Yes, EU-member states regulate religion - state relations in very different ways. It is not possible to talk about a European standard on this issue. There is, however, a European standard on the issue of religious freedoms: All are equal in this respect. Yes, some EU member states have also banned the use of religious symbols and among them headscarves for public employees and in public schools. In no EU country, however, there exists a ban on headscarves in universities or in private schools. Hence, there is an EU standard on the headscarf issue. Why shouldn't this standard be applied to Turkey?

The answer obviously is the following: The EU can only help us settle our problems. The problems are, however, our own, and we can solve them only through talking, debating, and compromising.

Source: Zaman Online