Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Women and Democracy Foundation (KADEM), delivered a compelling speech highlighting systemic discrimination towards ladies within the workforce – particularly Muslim ladies who put on headscarves – as she criticized restrictive insurance policies in France and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and urged institutional reforms to guard spiritual freedoms.
Speaking at a high-level occasion titled “The Right to Believe, the Right to Work: Women’s Religious Freedom in the Workplace” at Istanbul’s Ibn Haldun University, Erdoğan Bayraktar, who recounted her private experiences of exclusion throughout Türkiye’s Feb. 28 post-modern coup period, emphasised that spiritual expression, reminiscent of sporting the scarf, stays a barrier to training and employment for a lot of ladies each in Türkiye’s non-public sector and overseas.
“Just as our faith is a fundamental part of our identity, so is our right to express it,” she mentioned. “Yet we still see qualified women being excluded from job opportunities solely because they wear a headscarf.”
Citing latest examples worldwide, Erdoğan Bayraktar condemned insurance policies reminiscent of France’s ban on headscarves in sporting occasions and restrictions within the TRNC, calling them discriminatory and counter to common human rights.
“The idea that only those over 18 deserve freedom of belief is not only absurd, it is deeply unjust,” she added.
Data Shows Deep-Rooted Discrimination
Pointing to research from Europe, Erdoğan Bayraktar highlighted the stark actuality many Muslim ladies face: Resumes that includes a photograph of a lady in a headband are 65% much less prone to obtain a callback. Additionally, ladies sporting headscarves are 30 to 40% extra prone to face career-limiting discrimination.
“This not only damages individual careers, it deprives society of women’s talents and contributions,” she famous. “When women are forced to choose between their faith and their right to work, society as a whole pays the price.”
Erdoğan Bayraktar argued that discrimination cloaked within the language of “neutrality” or “professionalism” continues to be discrimination.
“I’m not sending a message with my headscarf,” she mentioned. “I am simply exercising my right to live according to my faith.”
Ongoing Challenges within the Private Sector
Although Türkiye has made strides in lifting state-imposed bans on spiritual expression, Erdoğan Bayraktar harassed that discrimination stays prevalent within the non-public sector. She pointed to job postings that explicitly discourage headscarf-wearing candidates or conditions the place promising job functions are dismissed after a photograph reveals the candidate’s apparel.
She criticized this mindset, stating that social equality and inclusion can solely thrive in areas the place people are free to be their genuine selves.
“In the absence of inclusiveness, impartiality cannot exist,” she mentioned.
Call for Global Awareness and Action
Calling the marginalization of Muslim ladies a part of a broader “identity war,” Erdoğan Bayraktar urged lecturers, establishments, and civil society to advocate for complete and inclusive approaches to human rights.
“This is not just a matter of religious identity. It is about the right to exist, to live, to work, and to be treated with dignity,” she mentioned. “We will hold on to our rights and continue to fight for a world enriched by our differences, beautified by tolerance, and grounded in equality and justice.”
The occasion, hosted by Ibn Haldun University, introduced collectively lecturers, college students, and civil society members to debate the challenges confronted by ladies in balancing spiritual freedom {and professional} life. The discussion board referred to as for institutional reforms and a cultural shift to make sure that freedom of perception and the best to work are protected equally for all ladies, no matter their spiritual id.
Source: www.dailysabah.com