Erdogan: Determined to bring back the headscarf – “If necessary, I will hold a referendum”

The debate over the Islamic headscarf has reignited in Turkey as presidential and parliamentary elections approach.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said today that his ruling AKP party may put to a referendum a constitutional revision to protect women’s right to wear the headscarf if the relevant regulation does not pass parliament.

He had formulated the proposal for a referendum a few days ago, addressing the leader of the largest opposition party of the People’s Republican Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

The AKP is poised to introduce the reform to parliament as the parties step up their voter-wooing efforts ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for June, with polls showing declining support for Erdogan and the AKP .

The Turkish president wants to proceed with an amendment to the Constitution, which would guarantee the right of women to wear the headscarf in public buildings and schools.

The issue of the Islamic headscarf was once a source of deep discord in Muslim but secular Turkey.

Under the constitution that enshrines the secular nature of the state, the Islamic headscarf has for years been banned from public offices, schools and universities, as well as certain venues such as parliament and military quarters.

But it stopped causing backlash after reforms carried out by the Islamist-leaning AKP during its 20 years in power.

Bans on the headscarf were introduced in 2013 by the Erdogan government.

Contrary to what happened in the 1990s, when the issue caused intense debates, no political movement is currently proposing to ban the headscarf in Turkey.

But the populist CHP party – trying to appeal to religious Turks – raised the issue again last month by proposing to introduce the right of women to wear the Islamic headscarf, after years of opposing the headscarf in parliament and in public office.

In response, Erdogan upped the ante by proposing a constitutional overhaul on the issue, which includes measures to protect the family from what he called “perverted tendencies,” apparently meaning same-sex marriage laws that are adopted worldwide.

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