Turkey lifts headscarf ban in religious schools

By Daren Butler
ISTANBUL | Wed Nov 28, 2012 8:33am EST

(Reuters) - Turkey has lifted a ban on female students wearing headscarves in schools providing religious education, in a move drawing criticism from secularists who see it as fresh evidence of the government pushing an Islamic agenda.

Education has been one of the main battlegrounds between religious conservatives, who form the bedrock of support for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, and secular opponents who accuse him of imposing Islamic values by stealth.

Those secularist fears were fuelled this year when Erdogan said his goal was to raise a "religious youth" and the AK Party, in power for the past decade, pushed through a reform of the education system which boosted the role of religious schools.

Under the latest regulation, announced on Tuesday and going into effect from the 2013-2014 academic year, pupils at regular schools will also be able to wear headscarves in Koran lessons.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/28/us-turkey-headscarf-idUSBRE8AR0JW20121128