The Washington Post article, “Ban on Head Scarves Voted Out in Turkey, Parliament Lifts 80-Year-Old Restriction on University Attire,” by Zehra Ayman and Ellen Knickmeyer, dated February 10, 2008, gives me the profound impression that there is a chance for democracy and human rights in the Middle East.
As envisioned by the founder of modern Turkey , Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey would be secular. A strong military influence from all levels of society and government has, until recently, ensured that religion would play a minor influence in the daily lives and government of Turks.
While there has alway been a rebellion against these policies, it is has been only in the past five to ten years that this Islamic activism has gained a foothold in society and in government. Considering recent events in the Middle East and Islamic strongholds elsewhere, this should come as no surprise.
According to the article, a burgeoning middle-class is becoming more religious and apparently more influential on the ground. This surprises me in some ways since, according to the western media, the lower-classes in the Middle East are more likely to turn to and accept religion as a vehicle of change.
Either way, my spin on this is as follows. Who cares if an individual wants to wear a scarf out in public? I admit to being a bit freaked by Burhkas but come on. She could be ugly, she could be pretty, or should could be a he. What are you going to do? Wearing a Burhka probably doesn’t make it any easier to smuggle in a suicide bomb than wearing a long skirt or coat does.
I am glad that Turks are comfortable enough in what seems to be the most democratic, Western leaning country in the Middle East to electively shoot down a law that really had no place in the modern world.