Comments on: Gender equality and Islamic headscarves http://www.ssrc.org/blogs/immanent_frame/2008/02/10/gender-equality-and-islamic-headscarves/ Secularism, religion, and the public sphere Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:01:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Gulesen Erin Uzun http://www.ssrc.org/blogs/immanent_frame/2008/02/10/gender-equality-and-islamic-headscarves/#comment-1127 Gulesen Erin Uzun Tue, 12 Feb 2008 19:45:15 +0000 http://www.ssrc.org/blogs/immanent_frame/2008/02/10/gender-equality-and-islamic-headscarves/#comment-1127 From the outside, one may view lifting the ban on headscarves as an act that restores women's rights, the right of individual religious expression; but inside, the dynamic is a lot different. Headscarves are systemically being used as a political Islamic figure. I believe the lifting of the ban will reinforce men's right to pressure their daughters, sisters and wives to wear headscarves, ultimately leading to the oppression of women in social life. Look at Turkey's current first ladies, cabinet members' wives; most of them were not wearing headscarves and were actively working before they got married. Shortly after marriage all covered their heads, quit their jobs and became housewives. If they were given a choice, would they really want to wear headscarves? As a young Turkish woman, this certainly is not something I want for the daughters of Turkey. Democracy and secularism go hand in hand with women's rights, especially in countries where the dominant religion is Islam. And for that matter, Turkey continues to be one of the few examples in the whole world -- certainly the only example in the Middle East -- where the overwhelming majority of the population (99%) is Muslim, which is also a democracy and is *still* secular. From the outside, one may view lifting the ban on headscarves as an act that restores women’s rights, the right of individual religious expression; but inside, the dynamic is a lot different. Headscarves are systemically being used as a political Islamic figure. I believe the lifting of the ban will reinforce men’s right to pressure their daughters, sisters and wives to wear headscarves, ultimately leading to the oppression of women in social life.

Look at Turkey’s current first ladies, cabinet members’ wives; most of them were not wearing headscarves and were actively working before they got married. Shortly after marriage all covered their heads, quit their jobs and became housewives. If they were given a choice, would they really want to wear headscarves?

As a young Turkish woman, this certainly is not something I want for the daughters of Turkey. Democracy and secularism go hand in hand with women’s rights, especially in countries where the dominant religion is Islam. And for that matter, Turkey continues to be one of the few examples in the whole world — certainly the only example in the Middle East — where the overwhelming majority of the population (99%) is Muslim, which is also a democracy and is *still* secular.

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