About that headscarf you're wearing....

Would like to capture my thoughts on this subject but first a couple of caveats:

1. My thoughts may change over time!

2. I am a solid feminist - have been for a long time - more to the point I believe in freedom to choose for both women and men.

3. This is a sensitive subject.

4. Turkey is > 95% Muslim but is a secular democracy.

5. My comments are based on observations in Istanbul (particularly but not exclusively in Old Town). The vast majority of women in Istanbul do NOT wear them.

With all that in mind I have to say it has been absolutely fascinating seeing the incredible variety of head coverings used by devout Muslim women. The stereotype back home is the Chador - the black head-to-toe covering where only the eyes show. You do see some of that but probably well under 10%, maybe less than 5% of all the women who wear head scarves.


More frequently you see beautiful, multi-colored designs which are worn over the head only with the entire face visible. There is wide, wide variety in both the scarves and the rest of the outfit. Younger women tend to wear more westernized clothes while the older women and "grandma's" often wear a kind of leather overcoat.

Two "Grandma's" - One Shopping at the G.B.

I saw one young women who could have been a hip-hop girl - jeans, t-shirt, high-tops - and a head scarf. Some wear beautiful, color coordinated designer outfits. There is a whole new industry in Turkey lead by a company called Ipec which specializes in the designer fashion outfits which comform to more strict Muslim interpretation.


I also surmise that the dress is more conservative the further east you go - as you approach Konya in central Turkey and on towards Iran, Syria, etc. its pretty clear things tighten up a lot.

So how do I feel about all this. Right now it's pretty simple for me. Does the woman freely choose to wear these clothes as a sign of her faith or is she truly being forced to do so. Being forced is oppression pure and simple. Choosing freely is free expression of religious and cultural beliefs.

Beth and I have had a wonderful time seeing and discussing all of this.
Here she is (far right) wearing a head scarf as sign of respect while we tour a mosque.

In Turkey, the secret seems to be tolerance and co-existance. Most secular Muslims seem to live pretty much in peace side-by-side with more fundamentalist ones. I suspect they have strong opinions about each other. But there is tolerance.

The official state is tolerant - to an extent. Interestingly, when Ataturk established Turkey after WW I, one of the laws forbid religious garb in public office buildings. This applies to men and women. To quote a famous Turk, "If not for Ataturk we would be Iran."

In France, there is great controversy because the government has forbidden female students to wear them in classrooms. This seems like selective discrimination to me. Shall we forbid Christians from wearing crosses, Jews from wearing Yamulkes, etc... ?


There are lessons here for Americans too. We have fundamentalists as well. There are those who say America is a "Christian Nation". This is true only in the sense that the majority of Americans practice some form of Christianity. The claim that we were founded as a christian nation is of course demonstrably false history. The path they want us to follow is the one that leads away from secular, tolerant democracy and towards intolerant theocracy. If you think thats a good path I suggest you visit Iran or Saudi Arabia. Or perhaps you should review American history - you will quickly learn that many of those who founded or came to America were fleeing oppressive state religions.

So my bottom line is we should be free to choose our path and free to have our own opinions about what others do. But not free to stop them for making those choices. Is there a test for the limits of tolerance. I think Jefferson had it about right when he wrote that he would tolerate his neighbors behavior though he might disapprove as long as, "It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg".

One last thought. I do not mean to imply that having freedom of choice would make it easy for a women in Turkey from a fundamentalist family to make a different choice. I suspect in many cases she would likely have to choose between her "freedom" and her family. This is no small thing. But at least she has that option - the state does not restrict her from choosing.

I am glad and proud that I come from a family of strong, independent, and free women including my mother and sisters, my wife and my daughter. I wouldn't have it any other way. I believe it is the best way for all humans. But I respect that others may see it differently and that their cultures have survived thousands of years.

The world could use a quite a bit more of the kind of tolerance and respect I have seen in Turkey.