New rule allows female Turkish police to wear headscarf

By Orhan Onur Gemici

ANKARA (AA) – Female police officers in Turkey will now be able to wear a headscarf as part of their uniform, according to a new ruling published on Saturday.

Turkey’s Official Gazette carries a new rule which will allow policewomen to wear a headscarf under their caps or beret on condition it be the same color as the uniform and without a pattern.

Back in 2013, then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan introduced the lifting of headscarf bans in Turkey's civil service as part of a broader democratization package.

Elsewhere, Police Scotland recently announced that the hijab would become an optional part of its uniform to encourage more female Muslims to consider policing as a career option.

Muslim women police in London have been permitted to wear a hijab for the past decade.