Islam and Gender Equality in Turkey Essay -- Islam

Unlike its other Islamic neighbors, Turkey abolished Sharia law and became a secular nation in the 1920s. As a result, women in Turkey had rights and freedoms not enjoyed by women in any other predominantly Islamic country (Arat 870). The first president of the newly transformed country was named Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who wore western-style clothing. Though Turkey was secular, it was not democratic, as one party ruled (Arat 870). By the 1950s things began to change again as Turkey transitioned to a multi-party system and the Islamists began to campaign more loudly and publicly for the right to practice their faith in public (Arat 871). Turkey has attempted to move toward a two party, more European type of system, or as one article terms it â€Å"Blairism† in reference to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, since the 1990s (CoÅŸar & Ãâ€"zman 234). But its history and predominant Islamist religious tradition is always present as a backdrop, exerting an influence, which has ebbed and flowed over the years. Because of its history and religious background, Turkey, which sits literally, figuratively, and philosophically, like a bridge between Europe and the Middle East, has something of a dual personality. In particular, unlike many of its European neighbors, the voices of women face more of a struggle to be heard in the political cacophony. Turkey is in a unique position of straddling the West and the Middle East, and its cultural pendulum has swung wildly between the two disparate cultures. At any given moment, a significant number of women in Turkey are in the position of feeling as if their rights are being curtailed, whether the country is in a more secular or Islamic phase. As detailed in the articles examined, when Turkey is se... ...other nations with two very divergent cultural traditions in recent years. The gulf between the Republican and Democratic parties in the US or even the different world views of evangelical Christians as opposed to those who practice mainstream or even no religion in the US looks much smaller when compared with the diversity between the two politically dominant cultures in Turkey. â€Æ' Works Cited Arat, Yesim. â€Å"Religion, Politics and Gender Equality in Turkey: implications of a democratic paradox?† Third World Quarterly 31.6 (2010): 869-884. Print. Turam, Berna. â€Å"Turkish Women Divided by Politics.† International Feminist Journal of Politics 10.4 (2008): 475-494. Print. CoÅŸar, Simten, and Aylin Ãâ€"zman. "Representation Problems of Social Democracy in Turkey." Journal of Third World Studies 25.1 (2008): 233-252. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.