Should a Muslim girl ride shoulders in a concert? AKP MP says ‘no way’

ISTANBUL

Performances from famous Turkish singers and bands rocked the crowd, mostly comprising university students, during the spring festival at Düzce University.

Images of female students wearing Islamic headscarves while riding shoulders during a university festival concert have annoyed a deputy from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), who said he was “ashamed” of the scenes.

The spring festival at Düzce University, located in a small city in northwestern Turkey, just 200 kilometers from Istanbul, rocked with performances from famous Turkish singers and bands including Gökçe and Gece Yolcuları.

However, Selçuk Özdağ, an AKP deputy for the western city Manisa, slammed photos of the concert shared through the festival’s official Facebook page.

“In Düzce University’s spring festival yesterday, I was ashamed to see headscarf-wearing girls sitting on the shoulders of men. Ah, where are the values?” Özdağ tweeted on May 11.

“A human is where her mind is, not where her head is ... We need people who cover their minds with the scarf of light. There are many people with headscarves who are about to open up [abandon the scarf], while there are many others without headscarves who are about to cover up [don the scarf],” Özdağ added.

Özdağ’s remarks triggered a heated debate on Turkish social media. While some users supported Özdağ, many others criticized him for being “discriminatory.”