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New Turkish Draft Constitution Permits Headscarves At Universities

By Howard Friedman

The Turkish Daily News reported on Wednesday that Turkey's new draft constitution (which will be released within a few days) will guarantee the right of Muslim women to wear headscarves at universities. The following sentence is included in the draft: "No one can be debarred of his or her right to higher education because of his or her attire." The clause was added to the Constitution's provisions on "Right to Education" at the direction of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. The draft also retains current constitutional language making religion courses in schools mandatory, despite an earlier agreement that they would become elective. (See prior related posting.)

Full post as published by Religion Clause on January 18, 2008 (boomark / email).