Istanbul, Turkey ? Defying protests by secular Turks, lawmakers voted Saturday to amend the constitution to allow women to wear Islamic head scarves at universities.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a self-described conservative Democrat who leads a party that has its roots in political Islam, had described the ban as an obstacle to young women seeking an education. After scoring a solid win in parliamentary elections last summer, his AK party had pledged to work to lift the long-standing restrictions.

Turkey is overwhelmingly Muslim but officially secular, with a separation of mosque and state that dates to the founding of the republic in 1923. The country’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, banned religious dress in public buildings and imposed the Latin alphabet over Arabic script.

Before the vote in the capital, Ankara, tens of thousands of secular Turks took to the streets, waving the red national flag. “Turkey is secular and will remain so!” they chanted.

The vote was the latest skirmish between the country’s secular establishment – which dominates academia, the judiciary and the upper ranks of the military – and more religious Turks, who in recent years have become more educated and affluent, gaining greater political clout.

Saturday’s second and final vote by lawmakers, by 411-103, cleared the way for the measure to be signed by Prime Minister Abdullah Gul. Gul, who is religiously observant, has indicated he will approve the constitutional changes.

Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party said it would appeal the issue to the Constitutional Court.

“We are experiencing a constitutional amendment brought by imposition, not by social consensus,” said Kemal Kilcdaroglu, the deputy chairman of the party’s parliamentary group.