Türkiye marked the 81st anniversary of its founding on 29 October 2004, but a dress code dispute overshadowed the occasion. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer excluded headscarved women from the official reception at the presidential palace, prompting a near-total boycott by legislators from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Of the AKP's 368 parliament members, roughly 20 attended, including four ministers, according to NTV. Many had returned their invitations in protest. The wives of most AKP members wear the Islamic headscarf, and Sezer had first imposed the restriction the previous year, after the party came to power.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose wife also covers her head, avoided the situation entirely by traveling to Rome for the signing of the new European Union constitution. Female legislators from both the AKP and the opposition Republican People's Party, none of whom wear the headscarf, were welcome at the event.
Critics, including liberals and AKP figures, accused Sezer of treating elected representatives unequally. The dispute underscored persistent tensions in Türkiye over the boundaries of secularism, where women are already barred from wearing the headscarf at universities and in government offices. Erdogan's government has condemned that ban but has stopped short of challenging it.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.