PERCEIVED DISCRIMINATION IN TURKEY Firstly, researchers observed that the participants in the focus group discussions were relatively sensitive to discrimination. Particularly the religious participants have a strong belief that women wearing headscarves still face discrimination in business and daily life- though not as much as before. They also believe that there is general discrimination towards Muslims in the World. The following discussion in a focus group meeting between an executive assistant 29-year-old S. who is a Republican People's Party (CHP) supporter and not wears headscarf, and, a 32-year-old E. in-distance university student who is also getting prepared for Public Personnel Selection Examination (KPSS) with a political view of the MHP-AKP-BBP band and wearing hijab is meaningful in this respect: “S: For example, I recently went to social services. I couldn't see any women without a headscarf. E: Is this bothering you? S: No, I wasn't bothered. I just thought. Why not? E: Yes, I admit that veiling has accepted by the public sector, but I still do not understand why it is not the case for the private sector. There is a big problem with that. For example, when we apply to some workplaces, we can get the answer "unfortunately we cannot work with people in veils due to our customer portfolio.16" From this conversation, we understand that E. sees public institutions’ recruitment of women with headscarves as an effort to secure justice. At the same focus group meeting, E. says that she and her husband had been treated differently from other customers in a luxury restaurant in the previous days. She evaluates that this is the result of restaurant staff seeing them in a low status because of their clothing. In another focus group meeting, we can see that the male participants from the conservative-nationalist groups frequently recalled women who face discrimination because of their headscarf. We can also identify that the same male participants stated that Muslims in the world face discrimination. In other words, there is a strong perception of discrimination in the religious segments of society related to the political polarization both in the country and the world and the ruling party's widespread appeal to the discourse of discrimination within this polarization. On the other hand, participants close to the opposition parties share the same idea that there is a political discrimination. Since this research was conducted just before and after the presidential election, the effects are undeniable. Moreover, the CHP presidential candidate, Muharrem İnce, who established his entire electoral discourse on the goal of "eliminating discrimination” also take part in it. 16 Bulgu Araştırma, 1st Focus Group Meeting on August 1, 2018 17