Turkish female deputies allowed to wear pants inside General Assembly

ANKARA – Anatolia News Agency

The abolition of the ban was proposed nearly two years ago by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul deputy Şafak Pavey, who has a prosthetic leg. Hürriyet photo

Female deputies will finally be able to wear trousers, jackets and suits in Parliament’s General Assembly after a change to the legislature’s internal regulations on April 10 brought to an end a ban that had been in effect since the republic’s founding.
 
The abolition of the ban was proposed nearly two years ago, after the appearance in the media of photos of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Istanbul deputy Şafak Pavey, who has a prosthetic leg that stirred a debate about whether trouser-clad women should be allowed into Parliament. 
 
Article 56 of Parliament’s bylaws had only permitted women to wear skirts in the legislature.