The quiet revolt of the headscarf women
Ebru Buyukda? has proposed a venue for the meeting which she would not have felt comfortable a few years ago: a restaurant in Istanbul's best location. Far below, the Bosphorus glistens. Passenger ferries navigate through the currents between the European and Asian shores of the 13 million metropolis. Dozens of minarets protrude from the houses on either side. It is a view that used to be reserved for Istanbul's secular elite, not pious women like Ebru Buyukda. On the spacious terrace, the waiters would have served cocktails or white wine for sunset. But even the drinks menu would have Ebru Büyükda? signals: This is not your place! It would have been like anywhere else in Istanbul: the city's most elegant pubs, the most beautiful neighborhoods, the best jobs - all these were the privileges of secular Turks for decades, the followers of state founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who were heading for Europe.
"Headscarf women" and "Islamic bourgeoisie"
But since the AKP ruled in Turkey since 2002, the Islamic "Party for Justice and Progress" with Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdoğan turns the wind. "Islami burjuvazi", Islamic bourgeoisie, this is the name of the new middle class: they are conservatives who have made it from modest rural circumstances to big cities. The Turkish economic miracle of recent years has also brought prosperity to them. And they want to show that now. "Mr. Ober, a Sahlep please!" In the elegant and expensive "Messt" restaurant, it has adapted to the needs of the new faithful and wealthy clientele. No alcohol. Ebru Büyükda ?, 37 years old, has a sundowner made from husky milk and orchid root extract, tugs at the silk headscarf under which she has hidden her hair, and looks contentedly into the distance. Silver rings sparkle on her fingers. In front of her on the table, the Istanbul woman has spread the insignia of the urban elite: iPhone, iPad - next to it a stack of glossy magazines. Büyükda? is the editor-in-chief of "Âlâ," the new style guide for the Believing Turk. Every month, the booklet shows its readers: Women can be religious and lead a chic life at the same time.
High heels, iPod, tight jeans: the Prophet did not forbid
In the editorial department of "Âlâ" almost only headscarf wearers work with Ebru Büyükda? together
The message arrives: An entire generation of young women proudly and confidently displays their religious beliefs. 60 to 70 percent of all Turkish women, according to the daily newspaper "Hürriyet" recently, wear Türban - that is the headscarf here. "And there are more and more," says Ebrü Büyükda.
"Âlâs" motto is: As long as a Muslim person adheres to the Islamic dress code, dresses in a chaste manner and shows skin only on the face and hands, what is pleasing is allowed. Highheels by Alexander McQueen, a trench coat by Patrizia Pepe or a skimpy skinny jeans by Guess - the Prophet did not forbid! In addition to fashion inspiration give Ebru Büyükda? and the approximately 20-strong team of permanent and freelancers beauty and diet tips. "Just normal women's issues," says the editor-in-chief. "But we always have the Koran in mind." In the autumn issue is reminded to use the cold season for walks and hot baths - but also to inner retreat. The circulation is 20,000 copies.
In the past, headscarf wearers in Istanbul were virtually invisible. They lived with their families away from the better society in suburbs and in the Anatolian hinterland. They were banished from public buildings, schools and universities. Istanbul, the flagship metropolis of the country, is bursting with new power: Expensive commercial buildings and housing estates are being built at great speed. The city expands, and across the famous shopping street in the hip Beyoglu district, a broad, never-ending stream of people pushes itself into the night. The "Islami Burvazi" is proud of their new status symbols.
"Good looks are very important", says "Âlâ" -Chefin Buyukda ?. A sentence that sounds superficial - but it says a lot about the new pious women. Inconspicuous and unnoticed how her mother and grandmother flit through life - that's what the young generation of religious women no longer wants.
For Nurdan Içk, a life without a headscarf did not feel right
For hours, Nurdan Içk styled models today. The 24-year-old works for "Etesettür", an online fashion portal by Frommen für Fromme. Fought but satisfied, she is now, shortly after closing time. "It's great to work with like-minded people," says Içk."I have always prayed, and deep within myself, I long had the desire to live the Koran, but as I look today, I could have forgotten my studies," says the media scholar, looking down at herself. She wears blue jeans, an orange blouse, a hip fur vest over it - and an elegantly knotted turban. "I was not allowed to appear at the university." For the sake of career, Içik put her beliefs aside, adopted her country's secular dress code. No headscarf at the faculty! It was just as normal for her as putting on miniskirts, going to bars and concerts, or having her hair blown twice a week at the barber's. She led the colorful life of a young woman - and yet it did not feel right for her deep inside her.
Only in April last year, When she had the diploma in her pocket and her first job as assistant to the university rector, I ?? k had the feeling: Now I can afford to put on the headscarf. Even a nocturnal dream showed her: you are ready! A friend showed her how to put the cloth over her hair, the ends wrapped around her neck and knotted the top elegantly at the neck. I ?? k noticed quickly: The change takes some getting used to. For herself - when she goes out she orders Cola instead of a cocktail like in the past - but much more for the others: "Stop that!", Call her old friends when they see I ?? k in a headscarf. Her private decision to wear a headscarf is a no-go policy for the others.
Attorney Ci? Hac? Softao? Lu fears for women's rights in her country.
For many secular Turks, the headscarf is considered a sign of emaciation par excellence. The conservatives argue the other way around: "A woman wearing a headscarf at the university reminds the seculars that their privileges are dwindling," wrote a newspaper commentator. At the universities, for example: For decades, the completion of a public university was a privilege that could only be obtained on the terms of the secular. A bitter struggle erupted when the AKP wanted to lift the official headscarf ban in the auditorium a few years ago. By law, headscarf wearing is still not allowed today - but the university council has enforced that professors are no longer allowed to throw the students out of the lecture hall. In public buildings such as banks or hospitals, however, the headscarf ban is untouched.
Only one in five Turkish women is employed at all and women who cover their hair are even harder on the job market than non-headscarf wearers. For example, an engineer has to deal with public institutions again and again. With a headscarf this is impossible. "You can feel how religion is taking up more and more space," says the Istanbul women's rights advocate Ci? The Hac? Softao? Lu. "In my hometown on the Black Sea coast, restaurants and cafes used to be open to those who did not fast in Ramadan, but today they are closed to everyone, even in cosmopolitan Istanbul, when you're eating out on the streets during the month of fasting."
"Even with a headscarf I am the same person"
With concern the 32-year-old watches as the police gets more and more power, how the government proceeds against critics with all severity and arrests. Last summer, the government provoked raging protests because it allowed abortions only up to the fourth week of pregnancy - so in fact forbid - wanted. "Abortion has no place in our value system," Prime Minister Erdo? An announced and left no doubt what he expected of a woman: Each married couple should have at least three children and thus secure the Turkish future. "It would be much more urgent to do something about domestic violence against women in Turkey," says the lawyer. His own wife - headscarf wearer and mother of four children - proudly presents the Prime Minister at state receptions: Emine Erdo? An is something of the new conservative role model. Even Hayrünnisa Gül, the wife of the Turkish President, applies with headscarf and highheels many religious Muslims as a role model. Not only because she says, "I am a modern woman" - but also because she is so self-confident in fashion.
In the meantime, seculars and pious people prefer to stay under themselves. Often they live in separate neighborhoods, go to different cafes, restaurants and sports clubs. Non-alcoholic venues such as the "Messt" on the green hill above the Bosphorus are now the refuges of the newly rich religious. With great pomp they celebrate their weddings, meet for brunch or a sundowner-Sahlep. And enjoy their seclusion from the wicked world of their compatriots over on the other Bosphorus side in the party district Beyoglu. "In the bars there one would look at me from the side, that's why I prefer not to go," says "Âlâ" chief editor Büyükda.
Your smartphone rings, she looks at the clock. She has two children, girls, 7 and 13 years old.Both should one day decide for themselves if they want to wear a headscarf. "I would wish for it, but my husband and I will not put pressure," says Büyükda. She herself decided to wear the turban when she was 27 years old. Before, while studying, that would simply not have been possible.
Every day she takes time for the five prayers which a good Muslim has to do. During the afternoon and afternoon prayers, the chief editor's daily editorial work stops and Büyükda's gaze is directed towards Mecca. She knows: There are a lot of young women out there who want to go their own way, just like them. She feels obliged to them. But she does not want the social fronts in her country to harden further. For example, the new fashion editor of "Âlâ" does not wear a headscarf. "But she shares our conservative lifestyle and would never show too much skin," says the "ala" boss. Nurdan Içk also wants the others to understand, "Just because I'm wearing a headscarf, I do not expect my friends to do the same thing, I dress differently, but I'm still the same person," says you. "The headscarf just gives me peace and inner peace." That's really all.
The fight for faith
The political climate in Turkey, Especially in the big cities, since the AKP ruled, the Islamic-influenced "Justice and Progress Party" under Prime Minister Erdo? has turned. The conservatives have also benefited from the economic boom in Turkey. However, the new public commitment to the headscarf applies to many secular Turks as a sign of backwardness. They see in it the symbol of a political Islam and the new trend to the headscarf as a challenge to freedom and western way of life.
