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The headscarf crisis, which triggered a serious tension in our country, took me back to 20 years ago.
20 years ago, there was a headscarf crisis in our country. Those who currently state that the headscarf should be viewed from the perspective of ‘human rights’ were at the time on the side that objected to and could not even tolerate the headscarf in universities.
In the 2000s, young people who could not attend universities in Turkey freely with their headscarves would come to Cyprus and get university education.
I was lecturing at the Near East University at the time. I was one of those who contributed to the education of many students wearing a headscarf and learnt a lot from them.
It was a period when those who wore the headscarf were excluded and those who despised them were admired. Turkish Cypriots had no problem with the headscarf. I also remember that many people did their best to ensure that these people were respected.
The writings of our students wearing a headscarf about their experiences, even after graduation, have helped broaden our perspective.
Cyprus, where they pushed to stay for a while longer after graduation since they felt freer, is now being demonised as an anti-headscarf country.
Turkish Cypriots, who made an effort not to make them feel excluded—the way they experienced it in their own country—are today being portrayed as enemies of the headscarf.
Were they totally free from pressure in Cyprus at the time? No, they were not. We witnessed the university rector hop on the school bus and threw them out by their hair. Today’s fusspots were hiding in their shells during those days, watching silently. Archives of various newspapers are witnesses to those days.
We also witnessed universities being pressured to prevent students wearing a headscarf from taking exams and that this pressure had achieved results in many institutions.
Left-wing intellectuals who chose not to organise exams, and instead, evaluated students on the grounds of their projects to protect them from the evils of humanity are currently under attack. Today’s attacks are aimed at creating social tension. 20 years ago, those who remained silent about the violation of human rights, and even developed a discourse in line with the Turkish government of that period and supported the bans, are not to be trusted today when they defend the headscarf in secondary education as a human right.
Those who defend the headscarf as a human right in secondary education today must be disregarding the fact that we remember how they saw the headscarf as the enemy of Atatürk’s republic 20 years ago from a nationalist perspective.
Those who act in line with whoever is in power in Turkey, and formulate their policies according to that, are deeply mistaken if they think that they can cover their own disgrace by constantly marginalizing those who maintained the same stance throughout their lives.
We see and condemn the disgrace that belongs to all of you. It was your bigoted thoughts that prevented the mothers of those children you used for your political games from freely studying at university.
Unfortunately, I have no doubt that much of the behaviour I see as insincere originates from the desire to earn political power. Those who were asleep yesterday are currently trying to send a message to the Turkish government along the lines of “I am the best defender of your policies” with their big headscarf move under the pretence of defending the rights of a certain segment of society.
I would not believe for a second that they have other concerns.
The tradition has resurfaced, and we are exposed to insults coming from those who do not know Cyprus and Turkish Cypriots. What is even worse is that we have a government that remains silent to all of this and even seeks to earn recognition by watching the escalation of the tension created.
The main wrongdoers in this process are the President, the Prime Minister and the ministers. How are you going to look us in the face as long as you keep remaining silent to the insults against Turkish Cypriots, and even encourage the behaviour of these impertinent people?
This article was first published on 14.04.2025
Source: THOSE WHO ATTACKED THE HEADSCARF 20 YEARS AGO ARE TALKING ABOUT ‘RIGHTS’ TODAY
