The other hijab ban

Here's an article from an Islamic news site that covers the controversial banning of the hijab in Turkey. This ban on the wearing of headscarves in universities has been in effect and enforced since long before the French ban--women have been expelled from universities and removed from teaching posts for violating the ban.

In a report published in 2004, Human Rights Watch states that the ban "has excluded thousands of women from higher education," but it is unclear where they get this figure, or if it is speculation based on a presumed segment of the Turkish population that would pursue higher education if only it were permitted to do so with the hijab. As usual, HRW applies its special brand of hare-brained logic to the situation and comes out in the end siding with the Islamists. HRW may just be trying to ensure business for itself in the future, for western liberal acceptance of Islamic gender apartheid may well usher in a new era of human rights violations that will have HRW sputtering on ineffectually and Kofi Annan issuing strong condemnations for years to come.