The Turkish Daily News reports that after 13 hours of heated debate yesterday, Turkey's Parliament passed a constitutional amendment that will permit Muslim women to wear headscaves at universities. (See prior posting.) By a vote of 404 to 92, the legislators approved an amendment to Article 42 of the Constitution that will provide that no one can be deprived of their right to a higher education. A final Parliamentary vote on the Constitutional provisions is expected tomorrow. In today's New York Times, Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman discusses the controversy in Turkey, placing it in the context of proposed broader constitutional liberalization in the country.
UPDATE: On Saturday, Turkey's Parliament gave its final approval to the constitutional amendment permitting women students to wear Muslim headscarves at universities. The vote was 411-103. President Gul is expected to sign the amendment quickly. However a law governing the supervisory body for higher education must also be amended before the headscarf ban is finally lifted. (The Age, Feb. 10).
