More than 12 million Turkish citizens sign a petition to lift a controversial ban imposed by the Ankara government on wearing headscarves in public places.
Ahmet Gundogdu, the head of the Confederation of Public Servants’ Trade Unions, said the union collected 12.3 million signatures in the campaign against the hijab ban.
“We do not want to wear the uniforms designed by pro-coup mindset and we declare that we will not wear them,” Gundogdu said.
“We will hand the 12.3 million signatures to the Prime Minister’s Office to convey the wishes of our people to lift the bans. From now on the responsibility belongs to the government and Turkish Parliament,” he added.
The online campaign “for Free Dress Code in Public Areas” was launched on January 10 in an effort to draw support from 10 million people to push for the removal of the ban.
Several protests have been held across the country and civil disobedience has been part of the union’s move to force the government to lift the controversial ban.
The government’s ban on hijab has outraged Muslims who constitute over 90 percent of the country’s population.
The move has sparked anger among Turkish citizens, who believe the majority of the population is not allowed religious freedoms.
Turkey’s government has also issued an order banning headscarves for schoolgirls. Parents are allowed to pick their children up while wearing hijab, but children may not wear it unless they are in private religious schools.
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via PressTV – In Turkey, 12 million sign petition against hijab ban.
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