Scarf standoff in Turkey divides women

Scarf standoff in Turkey divides women --- Head-covering issue in nation goes past religion, secularism

Istanbul -- FOR ESRA CIFCI, a 26-year-old Turk, wearing a head scarf isn't only an expression of her Muslim beliefs but also an assertion of her right as a woman to dress as she pleases.

For Canan Arin, a 65-year-old secular feminist and also a Muslim, the scarf is a clear symbol of the oppression of women.

Turkish law bans female citizens from educational and government establishments if they cover their hair for religious reasons. Among Turkish politicians and intellectuals -- mostly men -- the scarf is frequently at the center of the debate about whether Turkey is Eastern or European, Islamic or secular, traditional or modern. Last month, the simple piece of silky fabric embroiled Turkey in a political standoff that almost toppled the government.

But the scarf is also sharply dividing women's-rights advocates, here and elsewhere in the Muslim world. Islamist feminists like Ms. Cifci (pronounced CHIF-chee) passionately argue against the ban, saying a woman should be free to express her religious devotion as she wishes and wear what she likes. Secularists like Ms. Arin back the ban, saying if women in Turkey start wearing the head scarf anywhere they want, it could usher in a more religious society, hinder modernization and reverse gains made by Turkish women over the years. They scoff at Ms. Cifci and others who have framed the head scarf issue in terms of women's rights.

"This is a very ugly trick they are using," Ms. Arin says, adding their real motivation is to create a strict Islamic society.

In a 2007 Gallup survey, 45% of Turkish women polled said they wore a head scarf in public. In the same poll, 66% of Turks (both men and women) said they associated the head scarf with "being religious," but 38% of respondents also associated it with "freedom," while 26% saw it as a sign of "oppression."

A legal row over the ban earlier this year triggered the political crisis, destabilizing financial markets and threatening early elections. In February, the popular and conservative ruling AK Party proposed an amendment to the constitution that would lift the ban on head scarves in universities. The opposition accused the party of having a hidden Islamic agenda and mounted a legal attack seeking to ban the party.

Eventually, the country's high court threw out the AKP's proposed amendment and, in a separate hearing last month, cut off part of the party's government funding. It refrained from banning the AKP.

The Islamic holy book Quran says that women should be modestly covered, without specifying how. Differing interpretations of Islamic texts have come up with a wide range of coverings for women. In stricter societies such as Saudi Arabia, the law is on the other side of the head-scarf debate, and women wear a head-to-toe, cloaklike black slip that covers even their faces. In countries such as Iran, the hair and body are covered while the face remains in plain view.

Turkey's secular laws were enshrined by the founding father of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who believed religion was a hindrance to progress and modernization. In 1997, following a military coup, a longstanding ban on head scarves on campus and in government buildings began to be more strictly enforced; ultimately, it took hold nationwide. Conservative Muslim women in great numbers left educational establishments and the work force.

In 1999, Ms. Cifci co-founded a women's rights organization called Ozgur-Der with a group of like-minded female friends. The group advocates allowing conservative women to wear head scarves on campus. Over the past 10 years, scores of similar associations have been set up.

Ms. Cifci was in her second year of graduate studies at the University of Marmara in Istanbul when the school enforced the ban in 2003. An honors student on full scholarship, she had gone through high school and college covering her hair with no problem.

For Ms. Cifci, the ban was an end to many dreams. She was set to become the first female in her family to obtain an advanced degree. She wanted to become a teacher and be financially independent of her father and husband.

"My mother tried very hard to convince me to take off the scarf and go on with my studies and work, but if I wore a hat or a wig, I would solve my problem, not the issue. I decided to fight," says Ms. Cifci, soft-spoken and pale-skinned. She was ejected.

Today, Ms. Cifci is married, with a 2-year-old son. She writes a monthly column in a political magazine, Haksoz, and prepares reports and news releases, which she fires off to members of Parliament, local news media and international organizations.

Ozgur-Der has branched out to promote the rights of ethnic minorities and the humane treatment of political prisoners. It has over 1,000 active members and 12 branches around the country. In addition to advocacy, the centers offer continuing-education classes taught by ousted professors to further the intellectual growth of ousted female students, as well as workshops on law and human rights and reading groups.

"Banning women from school and employment is a backward mentality. It will marginalize young women and make them dependent on male figures in the family," Ms. Cifci says. "It's not fair."