Synopses & Reviews
Covering of Muslim women is often perceived as a sign of oppression in the Western eye. Nonetheless, there are a soaring number of women who choose to wear the Islamic headgear as a sign of their liberation and commitment to God. Although these women have long been of interest for the peoples of the Occident with endless material produced about them in the past, it was invariably through the monotonal voice of the Orientalist from a position of outside authority. Here the reader will hear, for a change, the insiders' voices from within the Orient, the voices of the contemporary Turkish women who cover, willingly and decisively. Their day-to-day struggles in search for their niche in the secular Turkish society are intended to open a new window and provide an alternative perspective for the Western reader.
Review
"Kavakci's sensitive, deeply informed, and courageous investigation of formation of national identity provides great insight into the complex problems confronting Turkey in the post-Ottoman period of modernization, and particularly the role of women as symbols, victims, and agents. Though the focus is on Turkey and the politics of women's attire, the implications reach well beyond. It is a most timely and valuable contribution to understanding of difficult issues that arise in some form throughout today's world." - Noam Chomsky
"A triumphant story of the discrimination against headscarved women, one which academically challenges the existing representations and challenges the reader to question easy assumptions. Written by a key member in the debate, Headscarf Politics in Turkey sheds light on one of the most highly disputed issues on the Turkish political agenda in the last decade: headscarf policy. Religious tolerance, women's rights, and modernity are all important components in this fascinating book by Merve Kavakci, who looks at the topic from a unique combination of scholarly distance and personal involvement. This will be essential reading for scholars and students of comparative secular and religious ideologies, political science, and women's studies." - Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government
"Merve Kavakci has provided a major and valuable contribution to knowledge about Turkey, providing an inside yet analytical and historical perspective to this key issue. Considering how the West is challenged to understand effectively the role of Islam in the Middle East, and the potential role to be played by Turkey as a member of the European Union, this an important work." - Umit Cizre, Bilkent University, Turkey
Review
"Kavakci Islam's sensitive,deeply informed, and courageous investigation of formation of national identity provides great insight into the complex problems confronting Turkey in the post-Ottoman period of modernization, and particularly the role of women as symbols, victims, and agents.Though the focus is on Turkeyand the politics of women's attire,the implications reach well beyond.It is a most timely and valuable contribution to understanding of difficult issues that arise in some form throughout today's world." - Noam Chomsky
"A triumphant storyof the discrimination against headscarved women, one which academically challenges the existing representations and challenges the reader to question easy assumptions. Written by a key member in the debate, Headscarf Politics in Turkey sheds light on one of the most highly disputed issues on the Turkish political agenda in the last decade: headscarf policy. Religious tolerance, women's rights, and modernity are all important components in this fascinating book by Merve Kavakci Islam, who looks at the topic from a unique combination of scholarly distance and personal involvement. This will be essential reading for scholars and students of comparative secular and religious ideologies, political science, and women's studies." - Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government
"Merve Kavakci Islam has provided a major and valuable contribution to knowledge about Turkey, providing an inside yet analytical and historical perspective to this key issue. Considering how the West is challenged to understand effectively the role of Islam in the Middle East, and the potential role to be played by Turkey as a member of the European Union, this an important work." - Umit Cizre, Professor, Department of Political Science, Bilkent University, Turkey
Synopsis
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 depends heavily on secularism which involves, among other things, the westernization of women's appearance.
Synopsis
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About the Author
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. Kavakcis 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 Worlds 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 Womens 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
Foreword; J.Esposito
Chronology of Significant Events
1. Introduction
2. Women in Nation Building
3. Politics of Religion (1938-2000s)
4. Social and Political Implications of the Ban on Headscarf
5. In Search for Education, Employment, and More
6. Conclusion
Afterword; E.Avebury