20 November 2010

Most have already fed up, but some still carry hopes of solving the dispute. Whether we call it a debate, a dispute or – as some like to call it – a "war,” the headscarf is a modern phenomenon that seems to occupy the agenda until the parties of the dispute agree at least on certain terms. What is obvious is that although the issue has been discussed at diverse levels, multiple aspects of the dispute originated by specific historical and socio cultural dynamics of Turkey have mostly undermined in the current discussions. In addition, as the basic medium upon which the discussions intensify, the concept of "public sphere” also needs to be revised to comprehend where all these headscarf discussions can take us.

From headscarf to ’headscarf dispute’: What went wrong?

As a widely known aspect of the issue, the transformation of the headscarf into a matter of dispute coincides with the 1980s in Turkey. Even though there is no direct law in the Constitution banning the wearing of headscarves in universities, the first restriction on wearing of headscarves in universities was put in place by the Higher Education Board, or Y’�K, in 1982. Reactions to Y’�K’s decision from diverse segments of the society led Y’�K to loosen the application of the regulation in the years after that time. However, in 1986, the era’s President Kenan Evren, who was also the commander in chief of the 1980 coup d’’�tat, warned Y’�K against "Islamic Fundamentalism” in Turkey – so called irtica – and asked for a stricter implementation of the regulation in universities.

But the implementation of the regulation turned into an arbitrary application, generally dependent on universities’ own mechanisms, in the late 1980s and in the early 1990s. The confusion on the implementation was obvious even in the differing discourses and contradictory applications of the political parties, Y’�K, the high courts and the universities. Departing from the history of the headscarf issue, what we encounter in the 2000s is a deep-rooted debate that has been over-veiled during the past three decades thanks to populist and save-the-day platforms of the parties in this dispute. One can also see that the headscarf issue is no longer a problem of a relatively marginalized group, but a matter of visibility at the "public sphere” for many.

A problematic ’public sphere’

Religion, which had long been approached as a nostalgic relic belonging to villages and rural areas, was not perceived as a threat by the secularist segment of the society, especially before the 1960s. However, the urbanization of religion due to heavy internal migration from rural areas to city centers, starting from the 1950s and continuing onwards, increased the visibility of the headscarf among diverse social groups in the newly industrialized cities. This latent conservatism among diverse segments of the society, including university students, started to be diagnosed as an "anomaly” in the modernizing society. Over time, the headscarf issue also became dissolved from its nostalgic roots and became a matter of political discussion among the parties of the dispute. Thus the headscarf dispute, which slowly but surely has risen as a result of the social processes, including but not limited to migration, urbanization and women’s increasing participation into social life, is much more politicized within this context.

While the issue is politicized, the headscarf dispute has turned into a problem of the "public sphere,” drifting away from its perceived limits in private life. However, the vagueness of the meaning and context of the "public sphere” in discussions did not take the dispute any further; on the contrary, it intensified the confusion on the topic. At this point we can ask whether kamusal alan is really the right arena to discuss the headscarf issue.

The concept of "public sphere” was adopted into Turkish from English as "kamusal alan.” Habermas, who introduced the concept in 1960s, defines the public sphere "as a realm of social life in which something approaching public opinion can be formed.” In this regard, public sphere acts as a medium between state and the public upon which thoughts, discourse and actions are developed for the sake of whole community. For Habermas the utmost significance of the public sphere comes from it’s being open to all citizens and its role as a mediatory arena for the state and people.

Public sphere as an activism arena, where people come together and discuss numerous issues in a free atmosphere, unfortunately, is confined to a very limited meaning in its Turkish application. Interestingly enough, the concept is merely limited to public offices and state funded organizations including universities, which are assumed to be an extension of state mechanisms in Turkey. That’s why the Turkish application and usage of the concept for universities is not only shallow but also insufficient in actualizing alternatives for the headscarf issue at public level.

Discussing the undermined

The headscarf issue is still a widely discussed yet little improved issue. Since decades-old politicized disputes as well as arbitrary populist moves over the issue did not help to solve the problem, what we need to discuss further is the undermined aspects of the issue. These aspects include but not limited to legal, socio economic, cultural, religious and gender dimensions of the issue.

What the mature age of the subject tries to tell us is that confining the headscarf issue merely to political and ideological discussions does not contribute to the solution anymore. Last but not least, as an issue whose gender dimension is intense, the headscarf dispute should also reflect women’s differing paradigms on the issue that can easily be vocalized around round table meetings, seminars, conferences and "come-together” organizations at public level. Unless these undermined aspects of the dispute are considered, it is unlikely to answer why we are still – and will be – discussing the headscarf issue.

* Dilek Aydemir is a researcher in the field of sociology at the International Strategic Research Organization, or USAK, Center for Social Studies in Ankara.