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Turkey lifts ban on women lawmakers wearing trousers

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AFP Ankara
Turkish parliament has lifted a ban on women lawmakers wearing trousers in the assembly, shortly after a major government reform allowed them to don Islamic headscarves.

The end to the trouser prohibition was approved yesterday when ruling party lawmakers backed a motion on it.

The issue came to the fore after a female opposition lawmaker with a prosthetic leg and arm, Safak Pavey, complained in a parliamentary address last month about being forced to wear skirts in the chamber.

In late October, four female lawmakers from the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) attended parliament wearing headscarves, breaking a long taboo in the staunchly secular country.
 

The AKP has a comfortable majority in the 550-seat parliament with 327 deputies. There are a total of 79 female lawmakers.

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First Published: Nov 14 2013 | 6:14 PM IST

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