EU: Parliament can't prevent hijab wearing member

While Denmark is considering it, The EU Court has its say.

European Court of Human Rights says Turkey at fault for expelling Member of Parliament for wearing Muslim headscarf.

On April 6, The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Turkey violated international human rights standards by ejecting an elected representative from Parliament merely because she wore a Muslim headscarf.

In 1999, militant secularists kept Merve Kavakci from taking her seat in the Turkish parliament, shouting her down for hours, and then ejecting her from the Parliamentary Chamber altogether—solely because she was wearing the hijab, or Muslim headscarf. Weeks later the Turkish government stripped Kavakci of both her parliamentary seat and her citizenship, again for wearing the headscarf in the Turkish Parliament.

"The human right of religious expression is not restricted to just the home or the heart," said Angela Wu, International Director of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which advised Kavakci on her appeal to the ECHR. "Religious expression in public and in public institutions is a natural part of religious faith, and its peaceful exercise is expressly protected by the ECHR."

The Court said that Turkey's behavior violated the right to "the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature" protected by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights. The Court awarded Kavakci 4,000 euros in damages.

"We're thankful the ECHR vindicated Merve Kavakci after so many years," said Wu. "She's been through a long ordeal and has suffered an unimaginable amount just for expressing her faith."

The Court's decision is listed as Kavakci v. Turkey (application no. 71907/01).

Source: Spero News (English)

See also: Denmark: Can a parliament member wear hijab