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Misguided Modernization The Headscarf Politics of Turkey
Emily Russel ’13
In Turkey, women-centered issues have
limiting and backward. In the end, banning the
become the focal point for discussions about
headscarf is a misguided attempt to modernize
Westernization and Islam, culminating today in
Turkey.
fierce debates about the headscarf, which has
To understand the contemporary political
become the symbol for this internal dispute.
climate regarding the headscarf in Turkey, it is
From the Western perspective, the headscarf
important to examine the historical context
epitomizes the “otherness” of Islam—it is a
leading to this current state of affairs. In the
tangible emblem illustrating why Islamic societies
early 19th century, the Islamic societies of the
are not only different from the West, but also
Middle
i
East
began
to
undergo
significant
inferior. This Orientalist notion has guided the
transformations due in great part to the West.
Turkish sense of identity both before and during
The influential European leaders brought both
the Republic, influencing the Kemalist desire to
informal and formal domination to the area as
“reach the level of contemporary civilization as
colonial powers and economic forces.iii With a
defined by the West.”ii While women were
greater
perpetually
identity
pronounced Western and Orientalist outlook on
discourse, the headscarf only really emerged as
the Islamic societies, especially in regard to the
th
role of women. Despite a notable androcentric
century, and since then it has been ever-present.
and misogynistic legacy in Western societies, the
Relying primarily on historic and discursive
Orientalist view concentrated on what it saw as
analyses,
this paper will first examine the
Islam’s innate oppression of women, and thus, its
historical context leading to the Turkish ban on
general backwardness as compared to the
the headscarf; it will then determine the effects
West.iv Leila Ahmed explains the implications of
of the ban on women in the contemporary
this Orientalist view: “Only if these practices
political climate. Ultimately, the paper finds that
‘intrinsic’ to Islam (and therefore Islam itself)
while the ban is an extension of Turkey’s attempt
were cast off could Muslim societies begin to
to modernize according to Western standards,
more forward on the path of civilization.”v Thus,
its effect on contemporary women is ironically
a new discourse arose, inexorably linking the
at the
fulcrum
of the
the centerpiece of this debate in the 20
European
presence
came
a
Emily Russel is an International Affairs major with a concentration in Global Public Health. She is, also, Vice President of the George Washington University Language Network.
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