The “Islamic women’s” movement: transition from the private domain to the public sphere

Abstract

This article emphasizes the development of the Muslim women’s movement in Turkey. It traces the historical roots of this movement as well as its evolution toward two different understandings of women. It is clearly seen that there exist two main approaches to the role of women among Islamic groups: while the traditional Islamic understanding strives to maintain women’s traditional roles notwithstanding that it advocates the right to benefit from modern education, another understanding challenges this and tries to ensure women’s existence on a “womanly” base in the public life. The author attempts also to depict the story of how Muslim women have attempted to be articulated in the public sphere, their 50-year struggle to achieve that goal, as well as the discourses, values and symbols that have generally been centered on the “headscarf debates”.