For Want of a Headscarf
August 29th, 2007 by Anindita Sengupta
Internationally acclaimed writer Elif Shafak talks about how Abdullah Gul’s election as president is causing ripples in Turkish society about its political and secular beliefs. The crux of the matter is that Gul is a former AK Party member, which is often referred to as an Islamist party, and his wife Hayrunisa Gul (now the first lady of Turkey) wears the headscarf, a problematic symbol that is at the heart of the controversy. But Shafak points out that:
Not all covered women are giving a political message. Similarly, not all covered women are “ignorant” or “repressed”.
More significantly, the structure of the Turkish family constantly brings together covered and uncovered women.
Sometimes the mother-in-law is covered but the daughter-in-law is not. One sister is covered but not another.
Even taking a stroll along a crowded street in Istanbul will show us how covered and uncovered women live together all the time.
Turkey’s role in history has always been significant. Not only does it lie at the intersection of two continents, it also combines other forces.
Within the amazing diversity of the Muslim world, Turkey occupies a unique place.
In an age when the number of people who believe in a clash of civilisations escalates every day, here is a country that is predominantly Muslim and staunchly secular at the same time.
The discussion on the president’s wife and the position of women in Turkey lies at the centre of all these massive political debates.
It will be interesting to see how Turkey reconciles this latest challenge to the coexistence of divergent views. Meanwhile, Hayrunisa Gul has asked an Austrian couturier of Turkish heritage to redesign her headscarves. Perhaps, in a bid to prove that headscarves can be modern too?
An earlier post about Turkey here.