Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday (October 22nd) proposed a referendum on a constitutional change to guarantee the right to wear a veil in the civil service, schools and universities during a televised intervention.
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"
If you have the courage, come on, let's submit this to a referendum!"
Let the nation make the decision
”, launched the Turkish head of state, addressing the leader of the main opposition party Kemal Kilicdaroglu who had initially proposed a law to guarantee the right to wear the veil.
Strong tensions around the wearing of the veil
The debate over the wearing of the veil has recently ignited in Turkey ahead of the presidential and legislative elections scheduled for 2023. With a Muslim majority, but having enshrined secularism in its constitution, Turkey has long been a country where the Wearing the veil was prohibited in the civil service, schools and universities, as well as in certain places such as the parliament or the premises of the army.
Headscarf restrictions were lifted in 2013 by Erdogan's government.
Unlike the 1990s, when the subject provoked lively debate, no political movement today proposes its ban in Turkey.
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“
We have had mistakes in the past about the veil.
It is time to leave this question behind us and to stop hanging on the lips of politicians
", even launched at the beginning of October the leader of the main opposition party, (CHP, the Republican People's Party), Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
According to observers, the latter would have wanted to show conservative voters - traditionally voting for the AKP, Erdogan's party - that they had nothing to fear in the event of a change of power.
Faced with this attempt to recover the votes of the conservatives, Mr. Erdogan retaliated at the beginning of October by calling on his opponent to make a constitutional change on this subject.
“
Is there discrimination against the veiled or not veiled today in the public service?
In schools?
No.
We have achieved this
, said the Turkish president.
We will soon send to parliament the modification of the constitution.
But if it cannot be resolved in parliament, let us submit it to the people
”.
