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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Jan. 24 that his government will work to introduce a bill in parliament to reverse the ban on women wearing headscarves at universities, instead of waiting for a constitutional amendment. Though the measure would have enough support in the legislature and from the public to pass, there is significant opposition from the country’s ultrasecularist military establishment, the judiciary and the educational institutions. Therefore, the government’s move to proceed with its attempt to reverse the ban could create a political crisis in the country.
With a very large majority in parliament and the support of the right-of-center Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party feels confident that now is the best time for it to move ahead with its efforts on this issue. Further fueling this confidence is the fact that the ruling party not only won a bigger percentage of the popular vote in the July 2007 parliamentary polls but also captured the presidency — an achievement that was seen as a Herculean task in April 2007. Furthermore, public opinion polls indicate that an overwhelming majority supports scrapping the ban.
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