Emine Bozkurt, the Dutch member of Turkish origin of the European Parliament and the rapporteur on Women's Rights in Turkey, said the issue of the headscarf ban in Turkey could come up during the negotiations with European Union as a matter of gender equality.

Emine Bozkurt calls it a pity that so many young women have lost their prospects for education due to the headscarf ban.
Bozkurt, the Socialist Dutch MEP, has been the rapporteur for the last two years but for the first time this year she referred to the headscarf ban in her report. Acclaimed by experts, the report was approved last month almost unanimously with 522 yes votes and 15 against. Though the report was vague on the headscarf ban and the problems it created in education, it concretely asked the Turkish government to provide data for the labor market to see if there was a discrimination stemming from the ban. In the 56th paragraph of the report, Bozkurt calls on the Turkish government to "provide accurate data on discrimination against women, including the access of women wearing headscarves to the labor market, in order to establish whether there is a risk of indirect discrimination based on gender."

Despite the vagueness of the report on headscarf-related problems in education, Bozkurt personally thinks the ban amounts to indirect discrimination and calls it a pity that so many young women have lost their perspectives of education. Stressing that the headscarf debate in Turkey has been dominated by ideological divides, Bozkurt complains there has been no serious study to see what women wearing headscarves really have been enduring.


The following is an excerpt from the interview:

This is the second report you have written on women's rights, yet there was nothing on the headscarf in the first one. What happened in between?

The simple reason is the EU does not have competence in education.

Can that be an excuse when you say in your report that each year between 600,000- 800,000 young women are not enrolled in school in Turkey?

In the first report there was a paragraph that said the government should take measures to ensure that all girls go to school. There was also the Leyla Şahin case pending at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The outcome of the long-awaited Şahin case was that member countries could have their positions on this sensitive issue. It was quite difficult to touch upon the issue of education particularly after the verdict. Also the EU now numbers 27 member countries and each member country has its own policy on headscarf. There is not an EU-wide specific policy on the issue. Some countries have more assertive policies, while others simply do not. France is very harsh for example, while in the Netherlands it depends (i.e. girls can go to school with headscarf in the Netherlands.) How you can possibly tell a candidate country to have this or that particular stance when you do not have one yourself.

Do you personally think the ban discriminates against women?

It is a big problem. Every young woman should have the right to an education. I think it is a pity for those who cannot attend university. It is hampering the perspectives of those young women who want to get an education and become independent personalities. If you see universities as places where people can fulfil themselves and participate in society fully, then you should give everybody a chance. It is not fair and it is an indirect discrimination if you give more chances to men than women in terms of education.

On the topic of the labor market, you've said harsher statements than on the ban.

Education is not an EU issue, but gender equality is certainly one of the Brussels' priorities. Access to education is also an issue of gender equality or inequality. Of course, I feel more comfortable when you have EU competence on a specific topic. I think Turkey will be obliged to deal with gender equality in the upcoming negotiation chapters. Chapter 19 will be about gender equality among other things.

Do you mean the headscarf ban could come up under Chapter 19?

I do not want to specifically focus on education, but forbidding the headscarf can be an issue of indirect discrimination and that could come up during negotiations. You should not indirectly discriminate against a gender.

You and many Europeans argue that there is no common policy about the headscarf. Actually, you have one, and that is there is not one single EU member country that bans the headscarf at universities. Not even France.

It is not a valid approach. The EU cannot say you should have not a ban on the headscarf as it cannot say that you should have one. If Germany wants to ban the headscarf, they can do it tomorrow. That was the gist of the ECHR verdict, each country can have its own decision.

You've asked Turkish authorities to provide data on discrimination in the labor market because of the headscarf. Have you received one?

My report was only voted on 10 days ago. I do not think even the final version of the report is on the website. What I would like to see is not only developments on the headscarf ban. We should need a more holistic approach. What I expect from Turkey, and I mean not only the government, but all other parties, is as we are in election year, I am eager to see how the issue of putting forward more female candidates will be dealt with. A commission on gender equality should be created within the Parliament. That committee could be a very good partner during the negotiations, which should be a very important priority.

Have you received criticism because you raised the issue of headscarf in your report?

On the contrary. I got lots of appreciative e-mails not only from Turkey but all over the world, the US and Europe. Turkish minister Nimet Çubukcu even told me that she would use the report.


Today`s Zaman, 1.03.2006

How can they say that? It's also banned in other countries, eg. Germany

not easy to understand how come one of most important human right can be baned just about some political worries,u will say i'm demcratical and i'm contemporary,and you will look for contemporariness on forbiding belief freedom,really big paradox..

thats the really big shame all sort bannings on belief freedom and the details of this freeom on the 21th century

how can someone force another one about interpreting to life except to common rules which needed for more peacfull and strong society..

uno here in the usa where i live...that the primary school kids are not allowed to wear hats at school. some school have a uniform rule. it seems to me that if an individual chooses to blend in (without scarf) to get an education...they would toss the headgear for a few years.
if a person wanted to enter a religious establishment...there are rules of attire. why can the educational system make its own rules to attire as well?
i know its not that simple to explain away...but any institution is going to establish rules to what is the best of the whole instead of the individual. there will always be a few who protest a new implimentation. thats progress. peace

I find banning headscarves an infringment on an individual's freedom. I cannot understand the rational behind European countries banning them in schools. Why is it considered to be oppresive to women? Why is not wearing a head scarf considered to be modern? I find nothing backward or old fashioned about a woman who believes she should wear a headscarf. In fact given the society today to stand up and withhold such a belief is down right revolutionary! Of course I think the case differs when one talks about countries where the woman is required to cover. In those cases I find that oppressive too. I am completely for a woman's right to choose. What's next? A ban on bras? as that makes women feel confined? Come on...in countries where women have to liberty to choose- let them choose!

Too, in regards to the U.S. it is not the same. Bans on headgear is due to the HUGE/OVERWHELMING problem that we have with gangs and affiliation being recognized by certain colored scarves, hat colors, teams etc... and the DEADLY violence over turf wars that can/have occured inside of schools. This is VERY different from religious/cultural issues that women covering their head face.

the kids arent allowed to wear sandals at my son's middle school...insurance reasons. 'oppression' 'idividuality' or your ears are cold and want to wear a hat...or feet are hot and want to wear sandals at school or their feet will explode...whatever the reasons to wear or not to wear...every institution wants to implement a dress code that promotes the feeling or security of 'the whole classroom environment'..again, not the individual. if the classroom was painted in rainbow colors it would be a distraction to learning. it seems to me that women were oppressed at one time from getting an education. the educational system, unless private, is government <