Rights Court Upholds
Ban
on Head Scarf Set by
Turkey
By REUTERS from the
NYTimes on the Web, November 11, 2005
STRASBOURG, France, Nov. 10 --
The European Court of Justice on Thursday upheld Turkey's ban on women's wearing
of head scarves in universities. The ruling was a victory for the
secularist Turkish establishment over the Islamic-based governing party.
The Grand Chamber, the court of last appeal, confirmed an earlier ruling against
Leyla Sahin, a Turkish woman who has been fighting the law.
The court said the idea of secularism in Turkey, which is seeking to join the
European Union, was consistent with the values underpinning the European
Convention on Human Rights.
The decision signaled the end of a protracted battle at the court by Ms. Sahin,
a student who was barred from attending Istanbul University's medical school in
1998 because her head scarf violated the dress code.
Turkey's secularist establishment includes the president, the powerful military
General Staff, judges and university rectors.
The ruling was a setback for the governing Justice and Development Party, which
has roots in political Islam and is seeking a relaxation of the curbs on
religious expression.
"Turkey cannot move forward with such bans," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said
in response to the court verdict.
"This ruling does not mean that such restrictions should continue," he added,
making it clear that the government has not given up its efforts to relax the
scarf ban.
The government contends that it is difficult to expand the rights of non-Muslim
minorities in Turkey, which the European Union says must happen, while Muslims,
who form more than 99 percent of the population, still face restrictions on
religious observance.
But Erdogan Tezic, chairman of the board of higher education, which oversees
Turkish universities, welcomed the ruling.
"The international dimension of this decision removes the possibility of Turkey
issuing a contrary regulation" that would allow women to wear scarves in
universities, he said.
The court recognized both Turkey's efforts to safeguard women's rights in its
Constitution and the need to maintain public order.
"Imposing limitations on the freedom to wear the head scarf could, therefore, be
regarded as meeting a pressing social need by seeking to achieve those two
legitimate aims, especially since that religious symbol had taken on political
significance in Turkey in recent years," the court said.
|
