Headscarf controversy in Turkey

The headscarf controversy in Turkey was a 20th and early 21st century controversy about women wearing Islamic headscarves. The Republic of Turkey had been a secular state since the constitutional amendment of 1937. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk introduced the secularization of the state in the Turkish Constitution of 1924, alongside his reforms. Over 90% of Turkey's population is Muslim, and the suppression of hijab/headscarves and other prominent religious symbols in government institutions and public schools, (similar to policies in France, Quebec and Mexico) led to heated controversy at times in Turkey. Specifically, it resulted in a clash between those favoring the secular principles of the state, such as the Turkish Armed Forces, and religious conservatives, including Islamists. In the early 21st century, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reversed this, and worked to "raise a pious generation" in Turkey.

Atatürk never forbade the headscarf (the dominant form of hijab in Turkey, where it is called başörtüsü meaning head cover), but didn't encourage its use either. The headscarf was banned in public institutions because of the 'public clothing regulation' issued after the 1980 coup and began to be implemented in a radical way after the 1997 military memorandum. However, the ban on the headscarf for public personnel was lifted by the democratization package in 2013. Restrictive provisions were lifted with the amendment made in article 5 of the dress code regulation, but remained in effect in the military, police force and judiciary. In 2022 both Turkey's Islamist government and the formerly secular opposition vowed to take "legal steps to enshrine women's right to wear Islamic headscarves".