Turkish court upholds university headscarf ban

Turkey's highest court today overturned a politically controversial law allowing women students to wear the Muslim headscarf at university, dealing a heavy blow to the country's Islamist-leaning government and its chances of survival. In a decision with significant implications for Turkey's future, the constitutional court upheld an appeal from opposition parties that the law - passed by parliament last February - posed a threat to its 85-year-old secular system. The headscarf issue has become one of the most highly charged in Turkish politics, with the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) seeing it as a question of religious freedom while opponents portray it as a potential gateway to a more Islamic society. Headscarf-wearing women have complained of being expelled from classes by professors while others have worn wigs to get around the ban. Read more ...