There was a consensus among the sources consulted that a majority of Turkish women wear a form of headscarf (Professor 12 Apr. 2005; BBC 25 Feb. 2004; AFP 27 May 2003), with estimates on the proportion of women who wear a headscarf ranging from 64 per cent (ibid.) to 70 per cent (Professor 12 Apr. 2005).

The Ban

Since 2001, numerous sources have reported on the controversial nature of Turkey's continuing ban on headscarves in public institutions (AFP 15 Mar. 2005; ibid. 25 Nov. 2002; Anatolia 20 Mar. 2002; ibid. 28 Feb. 2002; ibid. 2 Feb. 2002; ibid. 5 Nov. 2001; ibid. 16 June 2001; AP 30 Oct. 2002; BBC 23 Feb. 2005; UN 28 Jan. 2005; Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 2.c; Freedom House 15 Sept. 2004; HRW 13 Jan. 2005; Milliyet 5 May 2002; Professor 12 Apr. 2005; Sabah 28 Aug. 2001; Turkish Daily News 28 Nov. 2004; ibid. 25 Nov. 2002), including schools, universities, and the civil service (AFP 15 Mar. 2005; DPA 16 Nov. 2002).

Though the ban has been enforced (Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 2.c; HRW 2003) "strictly" since 1997 (BBC 25 Feb. 2002), an article in the Mail & Guardian newspaper indicated that there was no specific law banning headscarves, but rather a series of regulations (7 Sept. 2001).

Since assuming power, Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has allegedly been trying to ease restrictions on headscarves in government offices and universities (Turkish Daily News 28 Nov. 2004; AP 29 Mar. 2004). Although Freedom House claimed that the government was advocating greater leniency with regard to the wearing of headscarves (15 Sept. 2004), it was moving cautiously for fear of alienating Turkey's military or secular conservatives (Freedom House 15 Sept. 2004; BBC 25 Feb. 2004). Nevertheless, Turkey's foreign minister Abdullah Gul has voiced his opposition to the ban and said it would eventually be lifted (AP 9 Oct. 2004).

Medical Care

A 2002 press release issued by the Istanbul-based Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People (MAZLUMDER) reported on claims that a patient had been refused treatment at the Medical Faculty Hospital of Istanbul University because her "head was covered in the photograph present in her documents." The hospital was reportedly following the directives laid out in a bulletin circulated by the government (MAZLUMDER 5 July 2002). The press release quotes from a 1 July 2002 Hurriyet article in which the Dean of the Istanbul University Medical Faculty made a statement addressing the issue (ibid.). According to the Dean, in the past, patients had used false documents in order to receive treatment and, for this reason, photographs in registry documents had to be taken with the subject's hair uncovered so that the patient's face was visible and her identity evident (ibid.). The Dean further stated that the hospital treats patients who are wearing headscarves (ibid.).

The representative for foreign relations at MAZLUMDER stated that some women wearing headscarves have experienced difficulties in receiving medical care in state hospitals, further noting that there have been cases where women whose photographs on their medical health cards show them wearing a headscarf have been asked to replace their photographs with ones in which their head is uncovered (16 Aug. 2002). According to the representative, those women who refused to change the photograph were denied treatment (MAZLUMDER 16 August 2002).

In 12 April 2005 correspondence to the Research Directorate, a professor of political science specializing in women's issues in Turkey at Bogazici University in Istanbul stated that, in addition to never having come across any cases where women wearing headscarves had been denied access to medical care in private or public medical centres, he felt it would be unlikely that this would occur. Corroborating this claim in correspondence sent to the Research Directorate on 27 April 2005, an immigration counsellor at the Embassy of Canada in Ankara stated that "[w]omen who wear headscarves have full access to medical care. In any waiting room in a clinic, hospital or doctor's office, you will see women with headscarves."

An article in the 28 November 2004 edition of the Turkish Daily News claimed that in private hospitals, nurses and doctors were permitted to wear headscarves. However, in 2003, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that doctors were dismissed when they wore headscarves on the job, but the report did not specify whether the hospitals were private or state-run.

Higher Education

A 28 August 2001 article reported that students in headscarves would not be able to register in "any school of higher education" in Turkey (Sabah). Further, reporting on university entrance exams scheduled in 81 provinces and 63 towns, a 16 June 2001 article stated that "those who wear [the] head scarf won't be permitted to sit the exam" (Anatolia).

A 5 November 2001 article reported that a group of students from the Ankara University's Theology Department had staged a protest, asserting that they were not allowed to enter the classrooms wearing headscarves (Anatolia).

As reported in a February 2002 article, the Minister of National Education announced that 37 students had been expelled from universities between 1998 and 2001 for wearing headscarves (Anatolia 2 Feb. 2002). The Minister reportedly made the following statement:

To come to the university in a headscarf has been accepted as a political and ideological act which disturbs the peace and tranquility of the university, and as an act that necessitates being removed from institutions of higher education (ibid.).

According to a May 2002 article, 70 students had been expelled from Imam Hatip Lyceum in Malatya for attending classes while wearing headscarves (Milliyet 5 May 2002). The Provincial National Education Director stated in the article that the National Education Directorate Central Disciplinary Board had issued "continuous warnings in accordance with the Attire Directive" to the students against entering the school's classrooms wearing the head coverings (ibid.). An earlier article had reported that a total of 283 students had been suspended for three days from the school for refusing to remove their headscarves (Anatolia 20 Mar. 2002).

In correspondence to the Research Directorate dated 16 August 2002, the representative for foreign relations at the Istanbul branch of MAZLUMDER stated the following:

[T]he profession of teaching is completely closed to women in headscar[ves]. Not only can you not wear a headscarf in state schools, but in private teaching establishments as well, the wearing of headscarves for teachers has been banned.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the BBC, Turkey's headscarf ban excludes thousands of women from university every year (BBC 25 Feb. 2004; HRW 29 June 2004) and from high school (ibid. 2003). The Higher Education Council (HEC), a government organization that oversees campus policies throughout Turkey, stipulates that women who wear headscarves are forbidden from studying or teaching in postsecondary educational institutions (HRW 29 June 2004), and HRW indicated that teachers were dismissed when they wore headscarves at work (2003). More specifically, sources said that women who wear a headscarf cannot register as university students (Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 2.c), set foot on university campuses (Embassy of Canada 27 Apr. 2005) or enter examination rooms (HRW 29 June 2004). Violators who continue to disregard the headscarf ban after an initial warning are subsequently suspended or expelled (HRW 29 June 2004).

Article 6 of the Regulation Concerning the Dress of Students and Staff in Schools under the Ministry of National Education and Other Ministries No: 8/3349 22 July 1981, and then amended on 26 November 1982 "requires that students should dress according to the code laid down for civil servants" (HRW 29 June 2004). However, HRW argues that the university dress code applied by the HEC, which also includes prohibitions on miniskirts and jeans, unfairly targets only those women who fail to observe the no-headscarf clause (HRW 29 June 2004).

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern over the impact that the headscarf ban could have on women and girls in educational facilities (UN 28 Jan. 2005).

In June 2004, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg ruled that Turkey's ban on headscarves in state universities was fair (Turkish Daily News 21 Sept. 2004; 6 July 2004; ibid. 28 Nov. 2004; BBC 29 June 2004; HRW 13 Jan. 2005; Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 2.c). The BBC reported that the court justified its ruling by pointing out that universities had "'to prevent certain fundamentalist religious movements from pressuring students who do not practise the religion in question or those belonging to another religion'" (29 June 2004). However, an appeal of the case before the European Court of Human Rights is set for 18 May 2005 (ECHR 13 Apr. 2005).

In March 2005, the Turkish parliament approved a bill to grant an amnesty to many students who had been expelled since 2002 from universities, including those whose reason for expulsion was their defiance of the headscarf ban (AFP 15 Mar. 2005; BBC 23 Feb. 2005; New York Times 24 Feb. 2005). Sources estimated that between 240,000 (AFP 15 Mar. 2005) and 677,000 (BBC 23 Feb. 2005) students would potentially benefit from this new law, "a small minority" of whom were expelled under the headscarf ban (ibid.). However, women who continue to wear a headscarf will not be permitted to study at university (New York Times 24 Feb. 2005; BBC News 23 Feb. 2005), although they will be able to apply (ibid.). Sources further indicated that most Turks would like to see the ban removed (ibid.; Zaman 10 Feb. 2005). A nationwide survey conducted at the beginning of 2005 found that 70 per cent of respondents opposed the headscarf ban (ibid.).

According to the BBC, since 1997 when the authorities began to strictly enforce the headscarf ban, many young women have completed their university education abroad, while others have opted to use wigs when they are on university premises (25 Feb. 2004).

Public Service

An immigration counsellor at the Embassy of Canada in Ankara stated that public servants are not permitted to wear a headscarf while on duty, but headscarved women may be employed in the private sector (27 Apr. 2005).

The professor of political science from Bogazici University in Turkey indicated that women who wear a headscarf "could possibly be denied employment in private or government sectors" but that, conversely, some municipalities with a more traditional constituency might attempt to hire specifically those women who wear a headscarf (12 Apr. 2005). The professor did add, however, that headscarved women generally experience difficulty in obtaining positions as teachers, judges, lawyers, or doctors in the public service (Professor 12 Apr. 2005).

According to Country Reports 2004, women who wore headscarves, and their supporters, faced discipline or dismissal from their public sector jobs (28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 2.c). Further, some military officers were discharged for being married to women who wore headscarves (Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 2.c), though this statement could not be corroborated by the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

In November 2003, the president of a chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Turkey reportedly had a headscarved woman removed from his courtroom because she was contravening the court's dress code (NTV 8 Nov. 2003).

A controversy erupted when Turkey's secularist President Ahmet Necdet Sezer twice refused to invite the headscarf-wearing wives of members of parliament to an important state reception to commemorate the anniversary of the country's founding (AFP 29 Oct. 2004; ibid. 27 Oct. 2003; ibid. 20 Oct. 2003).

The representative for foreign relations at the Istanbul branch of MAZLUMDER provided the following information in 16 August 2002 correspondence to the Research Directorate:

[w]omen in [headscarf] are completely denied the status of government employee. Women who have tried to go to their government workplaces in their headscarves have had investigations opened against them and these investigations always result in the dismissal of these women. It needs to be taken into account that these women have taken exams for these government employee positions and have earned the right to be government employees...

Private businesses allow women in headscar[ves] to work in their establishment. But having women in headscar[ves] in your establishment carries the stigma of being against the decree of the state, a state that is completely against the wearing of headscar[ves] in public spaces.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP) [Paris]. 15 March 2005. "Turkish Parliament Passes

Controversial Headscarf Amnesty." (Dialog)

_____. 29 October 2004. "Headscarf Row Mars Turkey's 81st Birthday." (Dialog)

_____. 27 October 2003. "Row Over Islamic Headscarf Flares Ahead of Turkey's 80th Birthday." (Dialog)

_____. 20 October 2003. "Islamic Headscarf Casts Shadow Over Turkish National Holiday." (Dialog)

_____. 27 May 2003. "Six Out of 10 Turkish Women Wear Headscarves: Poll." (AFP)

_____. 25 November 2002. "AFP World News Summary." (NEXIS)

Anatolia [Ankara, in Turkish]. 20 March 2002. "Turkey: 283 Malatya Imam-Hatip Pupils Suspended for 3 Days for Wearing Headscarf." (FBIS-WEU-2002-0321 20 Mar. 2002/WNC)

_____. 28 February 2002. "Turkey: 7 Supporters of Student Protests Against Headscarf Ban Detained." (FBIS-WEU-2002-0301 28 Feb. 2002/WNC)

_____. 2 February 2002. "Turkey: 37 Students Expelled From Schools 1998-2001 for Wearing Headscarves." (FBIS-WEU-2002-0202 2 Feb. 2002/WNC)

_____. 5 November 2001. "Turkey: Students at Ankara University Protest Headscarf Ban." (FBIS-WEU-2001-1106 5 Nov. 2001/WNC)

_____. 16 June 2001. "Turkey: Participants With Headscarves Banned From University Entrance Exams." (FBIS-WEU-2001-0616 16 June 2001/WNC)

Associated Press (AP). 9 October 2004. Slecan Hacaoglu. "Report: Turkish Foreign Minister Says Ban on Head Scarf Violates EU Human Rights." (Dialog)

_____. 29 March 2004. Slecan Hacaoglu. "Turkey's Ruling Party Sees Mandate in Win." (Memphis Commercial Appeal Website) (Dialog)

_____. 30 October 2002. Suzan Fraser. "Scared Turkish Secularists Flock to Leftist Party to Face Down Islamic Challenge." (NEXIS)

BBC. 23 February 2005. Jonny Dymond. "Turkey Grants Student Amnesties." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4292771.stm [Accessed 24 Feb. 2005]

_____. 29 June 2004. "Court Backs Turkish Headscarf Ban." http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3849759.stm [Accessed 14 Apr. 2005]

_____. 25 February 2004. Tabitha Morgan. "Scarf Conundrum Grips Turkey." http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3513259.stm [Accessed 14 Apr. 2005]

Council of Europe. 13 April 2005. European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). "Provisional List of Scheduled Public Hearings." http://www.echr.coe.int/BilingualDocuments/Audience.html [Accessed 19 Apr. 2005]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004. 28 February 2005. "Turkey." United States Department of State. Washington, DC. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41713.htm [Accessed 14 Apr. 2005]

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) [Hamburg]. 16 November 2002. "Abdullah Gul Asked to Form New Turkish Government." (NEXIS)

Embassy of Canada in Ankara. 27 April 2005. Correspondence from an immigration counsellor.

Freedom House. 15 September 2004. "Turkey." Freedom in the World 2004. http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2004/countryratings/turkey.htm [Accessed 14 Apr. 2005].

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 13 January 2005. World Report 2005. "Turkey." http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/13/turkey9882.htm [Accessed 14 Apr. 2005]

_____. 29 June 2004. Memorandum to the Turkish Government on Human Rights Watch's Concern with Regard to Academic Freedom in Higher Education, and Access to Higher Education for Women Who Wear the Headscarf. http://hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/turkey/2004/headscarf_memo.pdf [Accessed 14 Apr. 2005]

_____. 2003. World Report 2003. "Turkey." http://www.hrw.org/wr2k3/europe13.html [Accessed 13 Mar. 2003]

Mail & Guardian [Johannesburg]. 7 September 2001. "South Africa: Those Who Didn't Make the Headlines." (Africa News/Nexis)

MAZLUMDER (Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People Istanbul Branch). 16 August 2002. Correspondence from the representatives for foreign relations.

_____. 5 July 2002. "Report of Medine Bircan." http://www.mazlumder.org/english/text.html?sy=56&cst=report [Accessed 13 Aug. 2002]

Milliyet [Istanbul, in Turkish]. 5 May 2002. "Turkey: Lyceum Expels 70 Female Students for Wearing Headscarves." (FBIS-WEU-2002-0505 5 May 2002/WNC)

New York Times. 24 February 2005. "Turkey: Amnesty for University Students." (Dialog)

NTV [Istanbul, in Turkish]. 8 November 2003. "Turkey: Supreme Court President Takes Stand Against Headscarves in Courts." (Dialog/BBC International)

Professor of political science specializing in women in Turkey. 12 April 2005. Bogazici University, Istanbul. Correspondence.

Sabah [Istanbul, in Turkish]. 28 August 2001. "Turkish Universities Will Not Register Students in Headscarves." (FBIS-WEU-2001-0828 28 Aug. 2001/WNC)

Turkish Daily News [Ankara]. 28 November 2004. Kemal Balci. "Why So Much Reaction Against AKP?" http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=448 [Accessed 14 Apr. 2005]

_____. 21 September 2004. "Ban on Headscarves and Turkey." (Dialog)

_____. 6 July 2004. Cuneyt Ulsever. "ECHR's Decision on Islamic Headscarves is Very Important for Turkey." (Dialog)

_____. 25 November 2002. "Turkey Tie Hopes to Government Program." (Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire/NEXIS)

United Nations (UN). Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). 28 January 2005. (C/2005/I/CRP.3/Add.8/rev.1) "Concluding Comments: Turkey." http://www.ecoi.net/pub/ds850_03048tur.pdf [Accessed 14 Apr. 2005]

Zaman Daily Newspaper [Istanbul]. 10 February 2005. "70 % Against Headscarf Ban in Turkey." http://www.prohijab.net/english/turkey-hijab-news11.htm [Accessed 19 Apr. 2005]

Additional Sources Consulted

The Embassy of Turkey in Ottawa, a professor of cultural studies specializing in gender studies and Turkey at the University of East London, and a professor of history specializing in gender studies and Turkey at Koç University in Istanbul did not respond to requests for information within time constraints.

Internet Sites, including: Amnesty International (AI), European Commission, European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI), European Union (EU), Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, Human Rights Turkey, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), World News Connection (WNC).