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 late Wednesday 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.