False discussion about headscarves in Turkey – Erdogan proposes referendum before living up to 5100 meters above sea level: these are the highest cities in every country

About eight months before Turkey’s main elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revived a year-old debate over the wearing of the Islamic headscarf. During a speech in Malatya province on Saturday, Erdogan proposed a referendum on a constitutional amendment that would guarantee women’s right to wear headscarves in public institutions – the issue had previously upset the opposition.

Experts view the debate as one mock discussion, because Erdogan and his conservative Islamic ruling party, the AKP, had gradually lifted a decades-old headscarf ban in public institutions since 2013. Since then, the subject has hardly played a role in public perception.

The next parliamentary and presidential elections are scheduled for June 2023. Erdogan recently lost approval due to the difficult economic situation. Turkey is currently struggling with an inflation rate of more than 80 percent.

“The debate about the headscarf is outdated and unnecessary,” Ersan Sen, a law professor in Istanbul, told the German news agency on Sunday. The main topic for the coming months is the economy. It was a mistake by the opposition to raise the issue. “Erdogan should be happy with that, now he can distract the agenda from the economy”said the expert.

In early October, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu introduced a bill to guarantee the wearing of headscarves. However, he rejects a constitutional amendment, he emphasized on Saturday. Kilicdaroglu’s CHP party upholds Turkey’s secular tradition. Observers assume that the opposition leader also wants to convince religious-conservative voters with his initiative.

To push through a referendum, Erdogan needs the support of the opposition. The AKP, together with its ultra-nationalist partner MHP, has a majority in parliament, but not the necessary votes for a constitutional amendment or a referendum.

Turkey, inhabited by a majority of Muslims, is secular – the separation of religion and state is enshrined in its constitution. (yam/sda/dpa)