In Turkey, President Erdogan proposes a referendum to guarantee the wearing of the veil – Le Monde

Supporters listen to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speech during an inauguration ceremony for new government buildings in Ankara on October 19, 2022. BURHAN OZBILICI/ AP As presidential and legislative elections scheduled for 2023 approach, the debate over the wearing of the veil has recently flared up in Turkey. Last act to date, Saturday, October 22, with the proposal of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to organize a referendum on a constitutional change to guarantee the right to wear a veil in the public service, schools and universities. With a Muslim majority, but having enshrined secularism in its Constitution, Turkey has long been a country where the wearing of the veil was prohibited in these three institutions. But the restrictions were lifted in 2013 by Mr Erdogan’s government, which often presents itself as the protector of Muslims against secular “elites”, suggesting that without him, “gains” such as the lifting of restrictions on the wearing of the veil , will be endangered. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Turkey, the deathblow to freedom of expression Unlike the 1990s, when the wearing of the veil provoked heated debates, no political movement today proposes its ban in Turkey . But Mr. Erdogan’s proposal aims to avoid being overwhelmed by his rivals on an important issue. “Do you intend to imitate Orban?” Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition CHP (Republican People’s Party, Social Democrat), has proposed a law to guarantee the right to wear a veil. “We have had mistakes in the past about the veil… It is time to leave this question behind us”, had launched, at the beginning of October, Mr. Kilicdaroglu. “If you have the courage, come, let’s submit this to a referendum (…) Let the nation take the decision”, thus replied, on Saturday, Mr. Erdogan, during a televised intervention. In response to the Turkish President, Mr. Kilicdaroglu rejected the idea of ​​a referendum in the evening, accusing him of “imitating” the Hungarian nationalist leader Viktor Orban, who has become the icon of the hard rights. “Do you intend to imitate Orban, Erdogan? (…) Where do you get the referendum from? If you don’t run away, this question will be solved. Men will no longer be able to have their say on women’s clothing. Do you have this courage? “, he tweeted. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Ekrem Imamoglu, the man who could end the reign of Recep Tayyip Erdogan Anti-LGBT provision Created by the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the CHP is known to be a strong defender of secularism. But according to observers, Mr. Kilicdaroglu wanted to show conservative voters – traditionally voting for the AKP, Mr. Erdogan’s party – that they had nothing to fear in the event of a change of power. In the text that Mr. Erdogan now proposes to submit to the referendum, there will also be an anti-LGBT provision, aimed at “strengthening the protection of the family”, he announced without giving further details. “A strong family means a strong nation. (…) Can there be LGBT people in a strong family? No,” he hammered. “As representatives of the will of the people, let us protect our nation from the attacks of deviant and evil currents,” he added. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers “What matters most to Erdogan today is to strike a blow at modernist, secular civil society aspiring to democracy” Le Monde with AFP