Headscarf Politics in Turkey A Postcolonial Reading

by Kavakci Islam, Merve; Esposito, John L.; Avebury, Eric

• ISBN13: 9780230106659
• ISBN10: 023010665X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-10-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This book questions the "role model" status of the Turkish Republic with respect to the advancement of female agency in a secular context by using the study of women with headscarves as a case in point. Turkey's commitment to modernization renders it a role model in many intellectuals' views and such modernization depends heavily on secularism which involves, among other things, the westernization of women's appearance.

Author Biography

Merve Kavakci is Lecturer of Political Science at Howard University. She was elected to the Turkish Parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 1999. However she was prevented from serving her term by the secularists because she wears a headscarf. Kavakci’s political party was closed down and her Turkish citizenship was revoked, banning her from politics for a period of five years. She took her case to European Court of Human Rights and won in 2007.

A widely recognized international public figure, Kavakci addressed the British Parliament House of Lords, United Nations Commission on Human Rights, US Congress Helsinki Commission and Interparliamentary Union. She has lectured at myriad of American, European and Canadian Universities including Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Cambridge, Berlin, Milan, Insburg and Ottowa universities.

Kavakci is among the World’s Most Influential 500 Muslims. She was recognized among “Women of Excellence” by NAACP and GWU in 2004. She was awarded the Public Service Award in Tribute and in Recognition of efforts for the advancement of human rights and Muslim Women’s empowerment by International Association for Women and Children in 2000. She was awarded Service to Humanity Award by Haus Der Kulturellen Aktivitat und Toleranz in Vienna, Austria in 1999. She was granted Mother of the Year Award by Capital Platform of Ankara and National Youth Organization in 1999.

Kavakci holds a Ph. D in political science from Howard University, an MPA from Harvard University and a BS in Software Engineering from University of Texas at Dallas. Prior to that Kavakci attended the Medical School of Ankara University however was not permitted to continue due to the headscarf ban.

Kavakci is a consultant for US Congress Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and a columnist for Turkish daily Vakit newspaper. She sits at the Editorial Board of Mediterranean Quarterly. She is the author of five books and numerous articles. 

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Foreword	p. xiii
List of Abbreviations of Political Parties in the Study	p. xvii
Chronology of Significant Events	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
Women in Nation-Building	p. 13
Politics of Religion (1938-2000s)	p. 41
Social and Political Implications of the Ban on Headscarf	p. 99
In search of Education, Employment, and More	p. 131
Conclusion: The Road Ahead: What's in Store for Basörtülü Kadinlar?	p. 145
Afterword	p. 155
Notes	p. 157
Bibliography	p. 179
Index	p. 193
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