The Headscarf in Turkey in the Public and State Spheres

Abstract

This article deals with the trajectories of the headscarf issue in contemporary Turkey from the gender politics angle by exploring its counter-hegemonic potential in a historical perspective. In the spring of 2007, the process to elect the president in the parliament was blocked by the opposition party RPP (Republican People's Party) mobilizing the opposition of the secular masses in large street demonstrations. Only after the 22 June 2007 early elections where the JDP (Justice and Development Party) came to power with 47 per cent of the votes and 62 per cent of the seats in the parliament, was Mr. Gu¨l elected by the majority as the president, regardless of his wife's headscarf. The contemporary political scene in Turkey is shaped by the discussions regarding to whether the JDP should be banned from the political scene due to its anti-laic practices such as attempting the ending of the headscarf ban in universities through legislative changes to the constitution. A court appeal was accepted by the constitutional court and the case will be pursued in the coming months. Earlier in spring 2007, when the next President of the Republic of Turkey was to be elected, the then prime minister, Mr. Erdo gan, again encountered strong opposition to his own candidacy and that of Mr. Gu¨l, the minister of foreign affairs at the time. The opposition was clearly due to the fact that both of their wives were notorious for wearing headscarves. The question of whether Mrs. Erdo gan, the prime minister's wife, or Mrs. Gu¨l, the minister of foreign affairs' wife, are fit be the first lady of the Turkish Republic has received immense discussion in the political arena. They both wear the headscarf regularly and this seems to be the signifier of their religiosity and their husbands' lack of commitment to secularism. Their prospective existence in the presidential palace (Ç ankaya) was perceived as problematic for contemporary secular Turkish politics. Certainly, it is not only the headscarves that made the possible candidacy of Mr. Erdo gan or Mr. Gu¨l for the presidency open to intense discussion in Turkey, however this is the most critical point over which their candidacy has been contested by secularist elites in Turkey. Whether there can be a first lady with a headscarf in the presidential palace has been a significant component of the current discussion regarding the presidency. This discussion has brought Mrs. Erdo gan and Mrs. Gu¨l, who have otherwise been non-political figures, to the forefront of politics. This article deals with the impact of the rising opposition in and out of the parliament shaped around the headscarf issue by dwelling upon the prospects of gender and politics paradoxes in contemporary

Emotional and corporeal formations of secularism: a case study of military bases in Turkey, 1980s-2000s

“…4 Women's suffrage rights and gender equality in civil law were introduced to 'emancipate' women from the 'confines' of the Islamic patriarchal regime and make them socially and politically active in the public sphere (Çınar, 2005;Saktanber, 2002). Particularly, nation-wide campaigns for the abandonment of the Islamic veil along with an encouragement of European forms of dress, manners, behavior, and daily customs placed women's bodies under the limelight more strongly, reaching into the very intimate spheres of the society (Cindoğlu & Zencirci, 2008). 5 However, despite the strong connection between Western secularism and gender equality, the republican discourse was infused with sexist traditional gender norms that were often associated with Islam (Akkoç, 2004;Özçetin, 2009;Sirman, 2004).…”

“…With this intervention, the military instigated yet another constitutional lawsuit to close down an Islamist political party and officially defined political Islam a threat to national security. Also called the 'February 28th process', this military intervention characterized an era of broadband securitization of religious identities in politics and public space, processes that often pivoted around the Islamic headscarf (Cindoğlu & Zencirci, 2008;Gürbey, 2009;Kaplan, 2002). 6 In its internal structure, the military enforced entrance regulations on the headscarf and purged 'religious and reactionary' military officers who were often identified through religious embodiment of women in their families (Arik, 2016(Arik, , 2018.…”

Speaking of Women? Exploring Violence against Women through Political Discourses: A Case Study of Headscarf Debates in Turkey

“…12 Kemalist women's organizations led several massive public protests under the name of "Republican Meetings" as a reaction to his candidacy. These protests were against the JDP's "hidden Islamist agenda" and the possibility of having a headscarved first lady (Cindoglu and Zencirci, 2008;Cinar, 2005). However, in the end, Abdullah Gul was elected president, and his wife, Hayrunisa Gul, obtained privileged access to state protocols and state offices.…”

“…9 On 28 February 1997, army generals declared Islamist fundamentalism the biggest threat to national security. This was the beginning of a process that led to the closure of WP and the elimination of agents of the "Islamization" of politics and society and prescribed a strict implementation of the headscarf ban (Cindoglu and Zencirci, 2008).…”

Breaking the Headscarf Ban in Secular Turkey

“…This does not necessarily mean a headscarf for women. 6 For a more detailed history of the ban see Aktaş (2006), Benli (2005), Cindoglu, D., and Zencirci, G. (2008). education, then we would not have the problem of the headscarf ban in public space today.…”