Nicosia, Cyprus - Thousands of Turkish Cyprus protested on the streets of the racially divided Cyprus capital Nicosia on Friday, protesting what they say is Turkey’s attempt to erode secular roots and strengthen political Islam’s holdings of society.

The rain showers were cleared long enough that parades could walk along the main passage with lifting union banners and holding placards to read “Not going to pass”, “Cyprus will remain secular” before gathering for concerts.

The protests are the latest in a series of demonstrations, with left-wing unions continuing their opposition to Ankara, shaping the sturdy secular Turkish Cypriots into a more politically flexible community by introducing Islam into the education system.

The protests came a day ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Northern Cyprus, where he would open a large pile of government buildings. Erdogan reportedly said he would publicly condemn protesters during his visit.

The protests began last month when the right-wing Turkish Cyprus authorities lifted a ban on wearing hijabs in high schools. Teachers’ unions, political parties and other left-wing groups condemn the move as an invasion of a strict secular education system aimed at the eventual “Islamization” of Turkish Cyprus society.

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Türkiye invaded after supporting an alliance with Greece in Athens. Only Türkiye recognizes that the Turkish Cyprus Declaration is third in the north of the island, which maintains more than 35,000 soldiers.

Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, but only the internationally recognized government in southern Greece can get the full benefit.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced on Friday that he had appointed María María Holguín Cuéllar as his private envoy to explore ways to resume peace talks since 2017.

Elma Eylem, president of the Turkish Cyprus Federation of Secondary Education Teachers, Ktoeös, and one of the main organizers of the protests, said changes in regulations that allow for hijabs to be worn in schools proved the bid for “social engineering”, forcing Turkish Cyprus society to propose proposals under the decree of Turkish rulers.

"This step has taken that step in the divisive part of our island, which has become a sub-management in Turkey, where every institution has been taken over, where our population has been reduced to a minority, and our political will has been removed, and this change in regulation is part of social engineering," Eylem told Milanam in his written answer to the question.

A high school teacher reportedly rejected a female student and showed up wearing a headscarf after the ban was lifted.

Eylem defended the action, saying teachers were not allowed to “impose political Islam through their bodies.”

"This issue is not a question of freedom, a headscarf or a regulatory issue. This issue is a step forward for the AKP in deepening political Islamic rule in the Cyprus community in Turkey," she said.

Eylem also refuted earlier opponents, those who favored permission to wear hijabs in high schools, saying such demonstrations organized by Turkey in Northern Cyprus “do not reflect the wishes of Turkish Cyprus communities.”

The President NNION said the legal challenge to lifting the ban on the turban was launched in Türkiye's Cyprus Constitutional Court, adding that their struggle would be "a long-term struggle".