On Sept. 7, a group of conservative women and men brought together by a nongovernmental organization called Ozgur-Der (Freedom Association) held a protest at Sarachane Park in Istanbul. Some of the protesters were as young as 13 and almost all women wore headscarves. Their quest: freedom to wear the headscarf at any school level. Their slogans read: “New Turkey with old and constraining laws,” “Why can't I attend whichever school I prefer?” “Children are ours, not the state’s” and “Right to wear a headscarf now and everywhere.”

The headscarf has been a sore, highly politicized subject in Turkish politics for the last two decades. Hijabis — the women who prefer to wear the headscarf — suffered years of discrimination in higher education and government employment. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) has campaigned intensively since its establishment in 2001 against any ban that would limit Islamic freedoms, and the hijab was at the top of the list. In October 2013, a new law allowed women to wear the headscarf anywhere, except for certain professions with a uniform, such as police officers, soldiers or judges. It was a major accomplishment for hijabis. For the rest of the country, it was assumed that the headscarf would no longer divide the Turkish electorate.

Before the headscarf freedom law, in November 2012, another regulation allowed public school students some freedom of dress. Previously, all students from the first through the 12th grade had to wear a uniform; the November 2012 regulation eliminated this requirement for all public schools. In terms of allowing head coverings, the regulation was less far-reaching, suggesting that girls be allowed to cover their heads only at religious Imam Hatip high schools and during elective Quran classes. This angered many conservatives who felt the regulation did not go far enough in allowing the use of the headscarf. Ozgur-Der’s statement, read by its director Ridvan Kaya, was particularly harsh. Kaya said, “We warn the AKP and the Ministry of Education not to take steps against our beliefs and identity, including bans and coercive regulations in the name of expanding freedoms in this or that area. Our beliefs and identity are non-negotiable. Freedom of religion is a bleeding wound of this country.” Kaya made a crucial point: “Partial solutions will not resolve issues related to freedom.”

Public schools are allowed to determine their own appropriate dress codes. Most parents at the protest complained that their daughters are told to go to Imam Hatip schools if they prefer to wear the headscarf. The students are left at the mercy of the school administrators. If the administrator chooses not to protest, the girls can cover their heads. If the administrator enforces a strict “no hijab” policy, the girls either have to find a new school or remove their headscarf. This ambiguity leads to further victimization on both sides. In some cases, administrators who enforce these ambiguous rules are punished as well. For example, in March 2011, three administrators had asked a student to remove her headscarf to take the university entrance exam. The girl removed her headscarf but later sued the administrators, and the courts decided the administrators had abused their power. The sentence was five months' jail time.