Word: turkeys
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Feminism and secularism, rightly understood, both put a high value on liberty and tolerance. Supporters of the ban on headscarves in Turkish universities have subverted these philosophies to argue for a policy that harms women, restricts religious and political liberty, and puts the secular government of Turkey at risk...
...argue that without it, social pressure from family and peers would force women to wear headscarves. This idea implies that women can be liberated only by restricting their freedom. It demonstrates a lack of respect for the autonomy of women and their ability to make their own decisions. If Turkey wants to promote women’s autonomy, it should do so directly, particularly by protecting women who choose to wear or not wear the headscarf from discrimination and retaliation...
Allowing people to practice their religion is also entirely consistent with secularism—the ideological basis of modern Turkey. Secularism has its roots in the Enlightenment tradition of tolerance and the idea that religion is a choice subject only to individual sovereignty. Using force to prevent religious observance is a perversion of this philosophy, and is more reminiscent of the Inquisition than the Age of Reason...
...secular policies. The past generation has witnessed the ferocious backlash that can result against a blanket secularism imposed tactlessly, most notably in the streets of Tehran in 1979. Removing this prohibition would prevent the disintegration of the balance between secular and fundamentalist interests that has existed in Turkey since it became a republic...
...removal of the ban is ultimately about tolerance of religious, political, and personal liberty. These are essential human rights, not cultural perks to be sacrificed for expediency. To praise censorship and intolerance in Turkey while decrying it in the western world is to adhere to an unacceptable and unfounded double standard...