90 percent of Turks think there is no ‘headscarf problem’

Duvar English

Some 90.1 percent of Turks do not think that there is a headscarf problem in the country at the moment, according to a newly conducted poll by Metropoll Research.

The results of the survey were shared by the company on Twitter.

When asked “Do you think there is a headscarf problem for those currently working in universities and public institutions?,” 90.1 percent of the respondents answered “no”, while 8 percent said “yes”.

Accordingly, 94.4 percent of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) voters said “no” to the question, while this figure is at 89.1 percent for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) voters.

On the other hand, when asked “Do you think if the CHP assumes power, will the headscarf ban come back to those working in universities and government offices?,” 34.9 percent of the respondents said yes. 60.4 percent of the respondents answered “no” to this question. 62.9 percent of the AKP voters among respondents think that CHP will return the headscarf ban, while 6.5 percent of CHP voters said “yes”.

President Erdoğan first on Oct. 5 called for a constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to wear headscarf for women, after the CHP on Oct. 4 submitted a draft law with regards to the issue.

Erdoğan later said that the constitutional amendment in question will also include the protection of family which according to him "consists of the union of man and woman."

"The concept of family is indispensable for us. Because a strong nation comes from a strong family. Lately they have introduced LGBT into society, trying to degenerate our family structure," Erdoğan further said on Oct. 7. Erdoğan said this constitutional amendment will protect families from what he called "perverse trends,” targeting LGBTI+ groups.

CHP's move came amid allegations that the CHP would reban headscarf if it won the general elections scheduled to take place in June 2023.

The issue of the headscarf ban held an important place in public and political debates in Turkey in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The AKP lifted the headscarf ban for students in universities in 2010 and for public employees in 2013.

55.7 percent of the respondents stated that they did not find CHP's latest proposal in this regard "correct".

Also, 58.1 percent of the respondents said "yes" to the question of "Do you or your spouse wear a headscarf/turban?"

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