Turkish PM Erdoğan criticizes discrimination based on dress

“Let people dress as they like. Let’s respect all of them and ensure their freedom because breaking hearts is something worse than tearing down the Kaaba [the holiest site in Islam],” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during the Justice and Development Party, or AKP’s, International Women’s Rights Summit.

Erdoğan said the AKP has fought against all kinds of discrimination and encouraged women in politics. “We leave door open for women to seek their rights,” he said.

Some 350,000 girls have been granted state-funded scholarships and women investors have been promoted through special bank credits, Erdoğan recalled.

“Women are producing much more by taking active roles in every field,” noted Erdoğan.

Criticizing the politics of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, Erdoğan said: “They attempted to bring up ‘headscarf or hijab’ discussions last year prior to the local elections. But today they tear those hijabs, which are part of traditional dress and our society.”

“Be honest, be sincere. But they have never been sincere. We call on them to respect the realities of Turkey rather than focusing on people’s appearance,” he said.

CHP’s leader Deniz Baykal gave a party badge to a group of women dressing in black chador as part of his election campaign. His secular party members, however, harshly criticized him and accused of acting against principles of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. Baykal then intended to gain some votes of Islamist rooted AKP, but failed to do so.

Recently, a group of women who are members of CHP protested Islamic-style dressing and tore down black chadors which have been regarded as the symbol of Sheria rule and male hegemony.


/Hurriyet Daily News/