Turkey Drops College Headscarf Ban
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Turkey is quietly resolving an issue that has come to symbolize the country's bitter divisions and nearly toppled its government two years ago: Slowly, women are being allowed to wear Islamic headscarves on university campuses.
The head of Turkey's Higher Education Board confirmed this week that he ordered Istanbul University, one of the nation's biggest, to stop its professors from kicking students out of their classes for any reason. The directive followed a complaint from a student who was sent out of class last November for wearing a hat, worn by some students as a headscarf stand-in.
"Let alone a hat, we are against anybody being sent out of the classroom for any way of dressing," said education-board president Yusuf Ozcan, in comments to Turkey's NTV television channel. "We notified this [to Istanbul University]. If it is needed, we will notify other universities as well."
Istanbul University students say faculty members told them last month that headscarves would be permitted. Some women have started wearing them, but the ban's status remains confusing and differs widely between universities.
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