Unlike its other Islamic neighbors, Turkey abolished Sharia law and became a secular nation in the 1920s. As a result, women in Turkey had rights and freedoms not enjoyed by women in any other predominantly Islamic country (Arat 870). The first president of the newly transformed country was named Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who wore western-style clothing. Though Turkey was secular, it was not democratic, as one party ruled (Arat 870). By the 1950s things began to change again as Turkey transitioned to a multi-party system and the Islamists began to campaign more loudly and publicly for the right to practice their faith in public (Arat 871).
Turkey has attempted to move toward a two party, more European type of system, or as one article terms it “Blairism” in reference to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, since the 1990s (Coşar & Özman 234). But its history and predominant Islamist religious tradition is always present as a backdrop, exerting an influence, which has ebbed and flowed over the years. Because of its history and religious background, Turkey, which sits literally, figuratively, and philosophically, like a bridge between Europe and the Middle East, has something of a dual personality. In particular, unlike many of its European neighbors, the voices of women face more of a struggle to be heard in the political cacophony.
Turkey is in a unique position of straddling the West and the Middle East, and its cultural pendulum has swung wildly between the two disparate cultures. At any given moment, a significant number of women in Turkey are in the position of feeling as if their rights are being curtailed, whether the country is in a more secular or Islamic phase. As detailed in the articles examined, when Turkey is se...
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...other nations with two very divergent cultural traditions in recent years. The gulf between the Republican and Democratic parties in the US or even the different world views of evangelical Christians as opposed to those who practice mainstream or even no religion in the US looks much smaller when compared with the diversity between the two politically dominant cultures in Turkey.
Works Cited
Arat, Yesim. “Religion, Politics and Gender Equality in Turkey: implications
of a democratic paradox?” Third World Quarterly 31.6 (2010): 869-884. Print.
Turam, Berna. “Turkish Women Divided by Politics.” International Feminist
Journal of Politics 10.4 (2008): 475-494. Print.
Coşar, Simten, and Aylin Özman. "Representation Problems of Social Democracy in Turkey." Journal of Third World Studies 25.1 (2008): 233-252. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.
In the section entitled “Political Status”, Woodsmall delineates the “progress” of Turkish women in attainment of equal political rights when she writes,
Islam has been a dominant force throughout Turkish history. During the Ottoman Empire, Islam ruled every part of the theocratic state, but after the demise of the empire, Turkey's rulers led the country away from political Islam. The modern Turkish state has a strictly secular government, and Islam has been relegated to the personal sphere. Although Turkey has experienced a rise in fundamentalism in the past twenty years, the separation of church and state has remained relatively intact. Even with this increase of fundamentalist Islam, the wide majority of Muslims in Turkey are moderate and tolerant. They have adapted to modern life and value Islam for its moral and spiritual messages. Islam is a guide for right living and ethical conduct rather than a political system. Turkey constantly struggles to balance Islamic life with a secular government. Although the government wants to maintain a strict separation between religion and politics, it cannot ignore the power and influence that Islam has in the lives of the Turkish people.
On September 27th, 1996, the extremist militia, the Taliban, seized control of the capital city of Afghanistan, Kabul. Up until that day, women and girls in Afghanistan could go to school, work, and walk freely. Then the Taliban issued decrees banning woman and girls from receiving education, entering the workforce or leaving their homes without a close male relative as an escort, wearing a burqa. The Taliban violently plunged the occupied territories of Afghanistan into a brutal state of gender apartheid in which women and girls have been stripped of their basic human rights. The Taliban claims religious reasoning behind this gender apartheid, using the Muslim faith as their backing, though many critics denounce this logic, saying that The Qur'an condones no such thing. Woman in Afghanistan have become but a shadow of real people. Not only can they no longer enter the workforce or attend school, they cannot choose what they wish to wear, or call to friends in public for fear of being beaten, stoned or killed. The female sex has truly been enslaved by the Taliban, however what rarely comes to light, is that males in Afghanistan have also had strictures of dress and conduct imposed on them. These conditions have roused quite a varied response from the Western World. Western-born Muslims who practice Islam identify with some of the Taliban's strictures, even wearing the burqa or hajib in Canada. Others who do not know the Muslim faith, are outraged that woman can be subjugated so completely and that the rest of the world can sit back and watch it happen complacently. Human rights atrocities are committed towards women everyday by the Taliban in the name of their religio...
Things have changed a lot for Turkish women in the 20th century. After the reforms of
This reevaluation of traditional views is what created the area of focus for my learning plan while studying in the Middle East. My original idea was to investigate the steps taken by women in the Middle East and in Greece towards their independence and success as individuals and as a group. I wanted to know what types of public and private reforms initiated their freedom. I also wanted to find out if some women still lived according to their traditional history and the reasons behind that. For example, whether or not their personal beliefs, pressure from society and family, etc. . . . contributed to their traditional lifestyle.
The country of Pakistan has not always oppressed women. The former man in charge of Pakistan professed, “No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a third power stronger than both, that of women (Lamb and Yousafzai 31).” It was not until a general named Zia ul-Haq threw a coup and seized control of the government that women and men’s rights became incomparable under Islamic Law. Zia’s regime did not allow women to play most sports, have access to healthcare, or open a bank account, and, in...
In the past decades and even century, the women’s movement towards equality made tremendous progress. In the year 2014 women have attained the right to vote, to a higher education, to divorce abusive spouses, to own land, and to keep bank accounts among many other things. But, feminists argue that this progress is commonly mistaken for the false belief that true equality exists between the sexes. Feminist, in fact, argue that injustices still exist and may need our attention more than ever in many areas including the regular exclusion of women from voting in Saudi Arabia, lack of education for women in Middle Eastern countries, and the international gap between the amount of work women do and the amount of the world’s income that women receive. But the main focus of this report, however, will be mainly on the political injustices in in laws and the workplace, and the social inequalities in the home and in the ...
Since the September Eleventh attacks by Islamic extremists at the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania, Islamic culture has come under scrutiny by Americans more so than at any other period in the history of the ancient religion. One area that is often criticized by the American main stream media is the role of women in Islamic culture; it is almost common knowledge now that Islam subjugates women to a degree not seen since the Medieval Ages, and is backwards in all aspects of gender relations. Like many stereotypes, this one is overblown, exaggerated, and often completely incorrect. Women have been a fundamental part of Islamic culture since the founding of the Muslim faith. Women have had tremendous influence in all areas of Islamic culture including education, politics, economic concerns, and religious interpretation; by examining each of these four areas, it become clear that women have tremendous opportunities within mainstream Islam. Of course, certain hardline regimes like the one currently holding power in Iran will always oppress women, as well as gays and other minorities. It is important to not focus on the few areas where Islamic culture is practiced and women are subjugated, but to look at the broader Islamic culture where women are a critical component.
In the book, Women in the Middle East, a Saudi Arabian proverb states, "A girl possesses nothing but a veil and a tomb" (Harik and Marston 83). The key words, "veil" and "tomb" lend evidence to the fact that many Middle Eastern women lack identity symbolized by the “veil” and lack the right of ownership except for their veil and the tomb. This statement further enforces the notion that many women in the Middle East are expected to serve and tolerate the oppression of the men in their lives throughout their lives on this earth. Moreover, it confirms that many of these women do not get the opportunity to obtain education, join the work force, and even participate in the political affairs of the country. This arrangement further helps the Middle Eastern men to view women as their properties, servants, or even as slaves. Ultimately, there are three main reasons why Middle Eastern men engage in the act of oppressing their women.
The religion of Islam has obtained the reputation of violence and misogyny in recent decades due to radical sects in the international spotlight. Although violence has been limited to radical groups, many people outside of the religion view Islam’s law, Shari’ah law, to define the status of women below men. However, from the original holy text, the Qur’an, and the Prophet Muhammad’s Sunnah, a framework of equality and mutual respect across sexes is evident. Although the Qur’an is the unadulterated Word of God, it is interpreted by Muslims in many different ways. It has been through these patriarchal interpretations of the five schools of Islamic law that the status of women has been impinged upon (Barlas, 2002). The Qur’an itself contains versus which demonstrate the equality of men and women, but also seemingly contradicts itself by undermining the status of women. These contradictory phrases have recently been interpreted by female scholars differently than the original schools to support the equality of sex. Muhammad’s life also displays his affection and respect for his wives as opposed to a lifestyle of misogyny. In the end, the status of women in Islam has been largely degraded by human interpretation of the text to create a power dynamic between a husband and his wife, or wives. Although a woman’s status has been lowered in the eyes of many Muslims, recent civil rights movements and women activists are challenging these emboldened concepts to achieve social and political leadership.
While at first blush the protection of cultural diversity seems like a worthy cause to support for many of us, there are much deeper implications than the prima facie façade multiculturalism suggests. Instead, there is a “deep and growing tension” (Okin,1999; p10) between the ideals of feminism and those concerned with the protection of cultural rights. This tension is exacerbated when the protection of those rights safeguards the continuation of practices such as female genital cutting (FGC) in the name of ‘culture’ and ‘tradition.’ Every culture is dynamic, complex, and rich in its own ways. However when cultures come together and interact there are inevitably tensions and one such tension is centred on gender and gender norms. In this paper I hope to explore the question “what should be done when the claims of minority cultures or religions clash with the norm of gender equality that is at least formally endorsed by liberal states (however much they continue to violate it in their practices)?” (Okin,1999; p9) Answering this question will allow us to look at the inconsistencies between women’s rights and cultural rights.
Lila Abu-Lughod’s article titled, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” takes a closer look at the problematic ethnocentric approach many have when trying to gain an understanding of another culture that may be foreign to that individual. In this analytical paper, Lughod looks at women in Islam, specifically the treatment of women and how it might be utilized as a justification for invading into a country and liberating its people. The country Lughod refers to in her article is Afghanistan, and Lughod points out the misunderstanding from the people to the Bush administration like First Lady Laura Bush who believed that intervention was necessary to free women from the captivity of their own homes. It is important to consider the role that different lenses play into all of this, especially when one’s lenses are being shaped by the media. Depictions of covered women secluded from society leave a permanent image in the minds of many, who would then later support the idea of liberation. This paper will discuss that the practice of using propaganda when referring to the lifestyle in the Middle East is not exclusive to the U.S; rather it has been utilized throughout history. Additionally, we will take a closer look on the importance of symbols, such as veils in this case; help to further emphasize the cause to liberate. Finally, we will analyze Lughod’s plea towards cultural relativism and away from liberal imperialism.
The Women of the Middle East have played substantial roles for their corresponding countries since the advent of colonialism in the region. Middle Eastern women have worked in all types of fields including medicine, education, agriculture, government, private sector, and even defense. They have kept roofs over their family’s heads while their husbands were away in wars, or even in foreign countries to work in jobs that they could not find in their own countries. The roles of women in the countries of Yemen and Oman are no exception, but while they still find ways to contribute to their country, they care constantly stereotyped, discriminated, and ridiculed by men who are known and unknown to them. This paper will discuss the individual contributions of the women living in Yemen and Oman, and will discuss in further state laws and cultural norms that are affecting the women living in these countries today.
Islamic nation. As examples given earlier about modernization which includes nations such as Turkey and on the other side of the spectrum the practice of Islamic Shariah. As a final note, my main objective from this book review is to see Islam from the eye of Muslims and Non-Muslims alike.
Women who have the misfortune of living in predominately Muslim societies often are confronted with adversities concerning their rights in marriage, divorce, education, and seclusion. Consequently, many Westerners seeing a lack of equality towards women in these societies consider it as a confirmation of their own misconceptions about Islam itself. Islam is often rejected as being an intolerant and violent religion that discriminates against and subjugates women, treating them as second-class citizens. From a Muslim’s perspective, Islam’s stance on women can be approached by two opposing views. Scholars amongst the Muslim apologists have claimed, “The verses in the Qur’an represented Muhammad's intention to improve a debased condition of women that prevailed during the Jahiliya, the time of ignorance before Islam came into being.” (Doumato, 177) If inequalities still exist between men and women, they cannot be attributed to Islam, but are a result of the misinterpretation of Islam’s true meaning. Others have entirely denied the notion of inequality between men and women in Islam, claiming that the alleged inequalities “are merely perceived as such by foreign observers who confuse seclusion and sex difference with inequality.” (Ibid.) Many Muslim apologists defend the Koran as noble for the very fact that it raises women to an equal status of men despite their inferiority.