The adultery and the headscarf debates in Turkey: fusing "EU-niversal" and "alternative" modernities?

Onar, Nora Fisher and Müftüler-Baç, Meltem (2011) The adultery and the headscarf debates in Turkey: fusing "EU-niversal" and "alternative" modernities? Women's Studies International Forum, 34 (5). pp. 378-389. ISSN 0277-5395

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Abstract

The principle of gender equality is part and parcel of the "EU-niversal" canon which aspirants for membership to the European Union must adopt. This would appear in sync with a Turkish national project that long aspired to convergence with European modernity and which flagged women's emancipation as a symbol of such convergence. Yet, in recent years pro-religious groups have sought to reconfigure Turkey's engagement of modernity, including extant readings of women's rights. This paper draws on the literature on "multiple modernities" to examine the views on gender equality articulated in Turkey and their alignment with those set forth by mainstream figures and institutions in the EU/"Europe." It does so by canvassing two recent debates over criminalizing adultery and permitting veiling in universities. The article reveals that the positions of secularists of all ideological backgrounds tended to converge with mainstream EU/"European" positions, whereas pro-religious arguments sought to fuse "EU-niversal" and Islamic perspectives. This finding draws into focus an inherent dilemma in Turkey's engagement of (alternative) modernity in which the democratic empowerment of the conservative majority may result in a more restrictive social setting for women.
Item Type: Article
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman > HQ1101-2030.7 Women. Feminism
Divisions: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > Academic programs > European Studies
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > Academic programs > Political Science
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > Academic programs > Social And Political Sciences
Depositing User: Meltem Müftüler-Baç
Date Deposited: 20 Oct 2011 16:16
Last Modified: 30 Jul 2019 13:58
URI: https://research.sabanciuniv.edu/id/eprint/17284

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