This reporter has just visited the battle front at Bagozici University where combatants eye one another with hats and head coverings in hand prepared to launch a derby or shawl into the direction of opponents. The university faculty has made clear it will not allow women to enter their sacred classes wearing any hair covering like the chador and even those who try to circumvent rules and regulations by wearing hats are considered to be criminals out to disrupt law and order in the university. School administrators struck a blow for freedom by denying women the right to attend classes wearing a headscarf since it is well known that such head coverings essentially cover up religious strategies to end freedom of speech in universities.
Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that wearing the headscarf violates the nation’s constitution. This writer is not Turkish and is Jewish but quite aware of the historic background surrounding the ban on religious symbols in Turkish education institutions. However, we live in the 21st century at a time of vast economic dislocation and ongoing battles to create a peaceful Middle East. Perhaps, it is time to put aside the famous headscarf issue and just let one’s hair let out. It is doubtful if free speech will end in Turkish universities if some of the speakers are wearing a headscarf. In fact, allowing them to wear the headscarf reinforces the right of all Turkish people to adhere to their own religious and cultural beliefs. Who knows, maybe the Armenians can finally get the rest of the nation to acknowledge what happened to their ancestors and maybe Kurds can finally get freedom of speech.