Turkish MPs plan headscarf reform

Two major parties in Turkey have submitted a joint plan to parliament to ease a ban on the Islamic headscarf in the country's universities.

The Islamist-rooted governing AK Party and the nationalist MHP say it is an issue of human rights and freedoms.

The two parties have enough votes in parliament to overturn the constitutional ban on headscarves.

A strict headscarf ban has been in force in universities since 1997. It was ordered by the secularist military.

The issue is highly controversial in a mainly Muslim country whose secular elite - including the powerful military - sees the headscarf as a symbol of political Islam, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says.

The move to ease the ban has been criticised by judges and university officials. read more