24 August 2008
Turban
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The headscarf has cut a swathe through Turkish society, like a sharp edged knife. The debate about whether women should be allowed to wear 'turban' to university has threatened the very core of the Turkish secular state.
When Kemal Ataturk founded modern Turkey he discouraged women from wearing this symbol of Muslim belief. Today it is illegal for teachers, public servants and university students to wear it. For years some students have got around this ban by wearing wigs to uni.
Since the 1970s students have been agitating to lift the ban and earlier this year the ruling AK Party, a religious party, did just that. However in June the Constitutional Court upheld the ban, saying that the Turkish Consitution is secular and so Turkish society should remain secular.
In this program we hear from women who choose or choose not to cover their heads about this decision and their lives in contemporary Turkey.
Images
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Further Information
BBC report on the recent ruling of the Turkish Constitutional Court
The English language Turkish Daily News reports on the recent decision by the Constitutional Court to allow the AKP Party to continue to exist. This was challenged in the court after the court's ruling to maintain the ban on the headscarf at university.
Reuters report on student protests - February 2008
Turkish students have been protesting about the ban on headscarves at University
The Planetcast
A humorous podcast about the American TV Show The L Word
Story Researcher and Producer
Claudia Taranto
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