Turkey moves to lift headscarf ban

ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkey's parliament has passed a constitutional amendment that would end a ban on Islamic headscarves at universities, despite public protests.

The amendment still must be reviewed by President Abdullah Gul, who has supported the issue and was expected to approve the changes.

Tens of thousands of protesters on Saturday gathered in the Turkish capital, Ankara, to oppose the move, which they say threatens the existence of Turkey as a secular state that wants to join the European Union.

One opposition lawmaker said lifting the ban would mean the "disintegration of the nation."

In the vote earlier in the day, lawmakers agreed to approve two constitutional changes that will allow female students to wear headscarves -- the form of dress has been prohibited in Turkish universities since a constitutional court ruling nearly two decades ago. Watch as head scarves issue divides Turkey »

Demonstrators waving hundreds of Turkish flags and shouting slogans calling for a secular and independent Turkey gathered in Sihhiye square in Ankara.

Despite calls for the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down, the mood of the protest remained peaceful with demonstrators singing patriotic songs.

Saturday's demonstration does not reflect overall public opinion in Turkey, however, where Erdogan's pro-Islamist AK Party still enjoys strong support. The AK Party also enjoyed the backing of the nationalist party, the MHP, in Saturday's vote.

Although a predominantly Muslim state, Turkey has retained a strong separation between church and state in line with the policies of Kemal Ataturk, the revered founder of the modern Turkish republic.

Turkey's constitutional court banned headscarves from the country's universities in 1989 and it is still forbidden for women working in the public sector to cover their heads. The rule governing state workers will not be affected by Saturday's amendment.

The constitutional changes "will create chaos in universities and will lead to the disintegration of the nation," said Kamer Genc, an independent lawmaker, according to The Associated Press.

"This is a Black Revolution. The head scarf is a political symbol," said lawmaker Canan Aritman of the main opposition Republican People's Party, which said it would appeal the changes. "We will never allow our country to be dragged back into the dark ages."

"You are not opening the door of freedom -- you are shutting it forever for the girls," fellow lawmaker Nesrin Baytok said.

"The heads of many girls are shaved by their brothers to force them to wear head scarves."

Erdogan's party, however, argued that the university ban was an unfair denial of individual rights and religious liberty in a country where two-thirds of women still cover their heads.

"We will end the sufferings of our girls at university gates," Erdogan said Thursday, referring to pious female Muslim students who must remove their head scarves as they enter campuses. E-mail to a friend

CNN Turk journalist Deniz Kilislioglu in Ankara contributed to this report.

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