Women Serving in Turkish Army Allowed To Wear Islamic Headdress

BGNES

Women serving in the Turkish army will now have the right to wear Muslim headdress when they are on duty, announced the Defence Ministry.

Up to now, women wearing headdress in accordance with Muslim traditions were forbidden from serving in the army. The wives of military personnel wearing headdress were also banned from entering the barracks, places of entertainment and resort homes of the army.

After the ban on wearing Muslim headdress was abolished in the police last year, the army remained the only institution where the ban was still in force.

The Turkish armed forces are perceived as the guardians of the secular nature of the Turkish republic which is why, so far, Muslim clothing and the adherence to Islamic traditions by public employees were not tolerated.

With the rise of Recep Erdogan, however, more and more religious practices are making a comeback to politics.

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