Turkish Women Offer Mixed Views on Islamist Party's Victories

By Susannah Zak

When Turkey's Islamist Refah Partisi (Welfare Party) made its surprisingly strong showing in both Ankara and Istanbul during March's nationwide municipal elections, perhaps nowhere were people more shocked than in Adana, Turkey's fourth-largest city and, by reputation, the most secular. Although Refah did not fare well in Adana, reactions against the victories elsewhere were strong, especially among women. Their fear: that Turkey may slowly become another Algeria or, ultimately, an Iran.

School teacher Serpil Celiktas' first impulse upon hearing the Istanbul results was to cry. "I am afraid for my children," she said. "Ten years ago we laughed at (Refah Party leader) Necmettin Erbakan. Still I laugh at him, but others do not. What will it be like when my daughters are grown? Will we have to wear the chador (head covering)? I am proud to be a Muslim but I do not want to be compelled to cover myself. This is the 20th century. Turkey is a modern country."

Refah's victories have turned even apolitical women into activists. "I'm not really a political person," said Jale Yegenaga, volunteer recruiter of women for the recently established Yeni (New) Party, "but now I have to be. I have a great respect for those who wear the scarf, but I don't want to be forced to wear it. We cannot be fanatical. Life is not about covering up and praying five times a day."

So Much at Stake

When one considers how much Turkish women stand to lose, this anti-Refah sentiment comes as no surprise. Women in Turkey enjoy freedoms and achievements unparalleled by their Islamic sisters in many countries. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, father of the modern Turkish republic, urged his legislators to replace shariah law with a civil code in 1926, abolishing polygamy and granting equal rights to both men and women in inheritance, marriage and divorce.

In 1934, Turkish women won the right to vote in parliamentary elections; one year later there were 18 women deputies. More symbolically, Ataturk attacked wearing of the chador as "barbarous posture," freeing women from their traditional dress codes and making the way for a modern nation.

To be sure, traditions die hard and neither polygamy nor the chador are uncommon among Turkish peasantry, but overall, Ataturk's reforms paved a road of opportunity for Turkish women. Today, women comprise about 50 percent of Turkish university students, according to a local university administrator, and they routinely go on to become lawyers, doctors, engineers, professors and, recently, prime minister.

Far from favoring veils or scarves, dress codes for the middle class are decidedly western, with Levi's, Lycra and short skirts popular. Nor is it uncommon to see Turkish teenagers, male and female, walking together or sitting unchaperoned in a cafe.

No one can be sure of Erbakan's true intentions, but when he publicly calls Turkey a "lackey of the West" and favors more religious involvement in schools and government, women here cannot help but fear a the worst and try their best to counter it. Recently, a Refah parliamentarian referred to Ataturk's mother disparagingly. Taking the comment as an indirect insult to all Turkish women, several Adana women's groups united for a protest march.

Not everyone in this southern Turkish city fears Refah. Gulhan Yayla is a teacher of English who proudly covers her head and prays five times a day.

"Perhaps Refah's victory will force the government to put more importance on religion," she said. "Not only in Turkey but around the world religion is coming back."

Yayla complains that current government policies, which forbid female government employees from wearing the scarf while working, restrict her freedom of expression. "I should be able to cover my head when I teach, especially if I am doing so because of my beliefs," she maintains. "The government shouldn't force people either way. There is no forcing in Islam. There is nothing to be afraid of if religion is incorporated the right way."

And that is precisely the issue. In the view of many Turkish women, some Islamic governments have not incorporated religion the right way, often denying women the right to vote or to choose their own husband.

"Perhaps Refah will do good things in its districts," conceded Yegenaga, a Yeni Party woman activist. "But that won't give it the right to turn us into an Iran. Anyway, they have everything in Iran—alcohol, prostitutes, flashy lifestyles—but they hide it. Their life is a lie."

Refah's Roots

Few disagree that Turkey's precarious economic state has boosted Erbakan's popularity. "Turkey is suffering from years of fiscal irresponsibility and corruption, which probably accounts for a lot of Refah's support," noted one Western diplomat. "Also, the economic growth of recent years largely bypassed the masses of city poor. If Refah is paying attention to these people, then of course they'll offer their support."

But it is not only the poor who fall prey to Refah's tactics. "Some university students wear the scarf and the long robes strictly for financial reasons," said Ozden Ekmekci, director of Cukurova University's Center for Foreign Languages and a human rights coordinator for the Soroptimist Association of professional women.

"There is always a Refah representative lurking near registration tables offering free places to stay, money for books, things like that. Once a girl gets used to that kind of support, they threaten to take it away unless she does as they say. So, she covers up. It happens at every university in Turkey."

Another reason for the surge in Refah support, some feel, is that many reject Turkish Westernization. "As a nation, our culture has degenerated," said Oya Tekin, a lawyer with her own private practice. "Turkey opened up to the West too quickly. Our television, newspapers and radio programs are full of sex and materialism. A lot of people couldn't adjust to that fast change, so they drifted toward Refah and its traditional values."

Ekmekci agrees. "The television shows here are worse than anything I've seen in Europe or the U.S.," she said. "They are very risqué. This is how Refah got strong. They asked people, "Do you want your daughter to be like this?"'

Whatever the roots of Refah's popularity, it already has generated a counter-reaction. The Yeni Party, created by former President Turgut Ozal just 20 days before he died last year, claims secularism as one of its primary tenets, and includes members who favor both modern and traditional dress.

"A person's religion is between him and God and shouldn't have any connection to the government," said Yegenaga, the party's recruiter of women for the Adana region. "A true Muslim believes that. The others are fanatics. It would be very difficult for Turkey to become like Iran or Algeria, but we must work to change pro-Refah beliefs now so that it can never happen."