Tag: Women In Islam

Demand for women-only buses in Istanbul

A woman wearing a traditional headscarf smokes a cigarette inside a damaged bus, Istanbul, June 10, 2013. (photo by REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis)

Demand for women-only buses in Istanbul

I met Zehra in Istanbul during the summer of 2012. She was working as a waitress at the café I frequented at Taksim. Always with a big polite smile, Zehra answered my endless questions about how to move around in Istanbul. She would explain to me which ferries to take, which streets are shortcuts, and which buses to avoid. She was what every woman would want to have in a city like Istanbul: a shrewd native of the city who knows the “nooks and crooks” of town. I will never forget the time she pulled her Taser gun from her purse and said, “I only use this when I’m groped.”

Sexual harassment on the streets of Istanbul is anything but the “norm.” When Allyson Neel reported the situation from Istanbul in January 2013, Elif, a young single woman working as an assistant to a prominent politician, criticized the piece as orientalist and commented on Twitter that the situation in Istanbul is nowhere comparable to that of India. I had a rather intense exchange with Elif. She was adamant that if you acted properly no men would harass you.

This was precisely why I was perplexed when I learned that Elif supported a possible march scheduled for Dec. 29 in Kadikoy, Istanbul for “women-only buses.” When I asked why she would support this idea, and she said “because this would protect women and girls traveling without a male companion from verbal and physical harassment.” I understood that Elif had been sexually harassed in public recently. She was hurt psychologically and kept repeating, “This could happen even to a hijabi [dressed according to Islamic rules]. I cannot understand; I am dressed so modestly.”

Here I must provide the disclaimer that I am a supporter of “women-only transportation” in Turkey, given the situation. Allow me to explain: I know it is a temporary solution to a deeper problem, but I am not optimistic for “real” solutions from the government regarding women’s issues.

Women-only areas in the public domain, including public transportation, cafes and other places, have long been a star in the Ikhwani [activist “brethren”] flags. However, examples of women-only transportation are not found exclusively in the Muslim world. Cities in Japan, India, Brazil, Mexico and Guatemala have similar programs. There are two common features in all women-only transportation programs. The first is perpetual sexual harassment. The second is politicians who use this opportunity to gain favors from voters. This is what writers for Turkey’s most popular hypertext dictionary, Eksisozluk, debated with 30 pages of entries (about 300 items) between Dec. 5 and 8. Not even a government plan, but mere rumors of a just-proposed march had gotten most commentators up in arms.

The issue of sexual harassment is real for all women, young or old, hijabi or not. Yet there are other ways to minimize sexual harassment in public spaces, such as harsher punishment and better use of public security cameras. Public naming and shaming, not of the victim but the abuser, may be a good deterrent, yet none of these methods or others are being discussed in Turkey. The Turkish government and public are all too comfortable putting the blame and the responsibility on women to guard their chastity.

As Zehra, my cheerful young friend, correctly iterates, “If you share your harassment stories with your boyfriend, husband, or even father or brother, your freedom will be curtailed, and nothing will happen to the men.” That is why when the news broke at the end of November 2013 that in a high school “female students demanded to eat lunch in isolation” and a curtain was hung to separate the sexes at the cafeteria, many asked what kind of harassment these young boys were capable of. AKP (Justice and Development Party) members’ argument about how wrong it is to have coeducation has not yet been forgotten. Another city in Turkey, Afyon, has already started women-only buses to protect women from “incidents of theft” and overcrowding.

Consider the news of women-only beaches and swimming pools in upscale Turkish hotels, and the new trends (which have not yet reached Turkey) from Sanaa, Yemen and Egypt of women-only cafes. There are even newer alternatives as the latest Islamic cafe in Cairo, where women and men are served in separate sections and no music is played.

This kind of Islamic café trend is more likely to take hold in Turkey where gyms, beaches, pools, and cafes have sections for men and women. Already more places advertise as “family” establishments, and several of them turn away or seat unaccompanied men in different levels. This is an unspoken yet longtime custom in several small-scale Turkish eateries where male-only groups are seated on one floor and “families” (meaning females only, or females with male companions and children) are seated on a separate floor. Turks have been discreetly separating haremlik (family or female-only areas) and selamlik (male only areas) since the Ottoman era, so in the next decade it is likely that it will be called by its appropriate name.

Some people cannot help but ask, “What is next? Women-only streets?” Limits, as always, will be determined by the politics of the day.

Another argument is the commendable ability of Ikhwanis to use Western ways and means to enhance their goals. Public protests and solidarity marches are just a few. The good news is no one in Turkey expects this group marching for “women-only buses” to be gassed, water-hosed or arrested. This is the kind of march that has the AKP government’s seal of approval. This kind of march also serves to solidify AKP’s “conservative” base, which has been jolted, if not shaken, by the latest AKP-Gulen debacle.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has calculated the loss of some Gulenist votes would not hurt his base; however, if Gulenists convince other “conservatives” or Islamist groups that AKP elites are not what they seem to be by the rumors of sex tapes or large-scale corruption or eavesdropping and surveillance of Islamic groups or observant Muslims, Erdogan would sustain heavy loses. Hence, it is a smart move to mobilize AKP’s notorious “50%” base to unify under such “Islamic causes.”

The more secular backlash there is on “conservative” or “Islamist” demands on sharing public spaces, the more rally-around-the-flag effect AKP — the only Islamist party in the political arena — would have on its way to the elections. Hence, we may expect more “talk” on sex in Turkish politics, be it women-only spaces in the public domain or sex tapes of AKP members — which Erdogan declared was against his conservative stand when opposition parties faced the same “dirty tricks” in Turkish politics a few years ago. If what goes around comes around for Erdogan, he will need Islamists to back him up for survival. And in the meantime, women like Elif and Zehra quietly suffer daily groping and other forms of sexual harassment on the streets of Istanbul.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/12/women-only-bus-istanbul.html#ixzz2nFeBuTiQ

December 12, 2013
Women’s Prayer Spaces Featured In ‘Side Entrance’

CAMİLERDE KADINLARA YER VAR MI?

“Where’s my space to pray in this mosque?” inquires Muslim feminist Hind Makki in a post about her bold project, Side Entrance, which calls out mosques for their successes and failures when it comes to making adequate and equal provisions for women.

Germany
“Men and women at Juma prayers at the Islamic Centre of Hamburg in Germany.”
From http://sideentrance.tumblr.com/

Side Entrance is a Tumblr blog and Facebook page that tackles the issue of women’s prayer spaces in comparison to men’s with reader-submitted photos from all over the world that show the often drastic difference in quality between the two. The blog’s introduction says simply, “Photos from mosques around the world, showcasing women’s sacred spaces, in relation to men’s spaces. We show the beautiful, the adequate and the pathetic.”

Hind Makki explains the reason behind the project:

I was moved to write a piece about women’s mosque experiences during Ramadan 2012, when my friend was berated and nearly kicked out of her mosque for daring to pray in the half-used 2nd floor of a multi-million dollar mosque, behind the male congregants. She prayed upstairs because the women’s area in the basement was hot, loud and moldy. That incident spurred me to start this Tumblr, though I’ve had idea of showcasing the differences between men and women’s prayer spaces in mosques for a long time.

There are many mosques around the world that boast incredible space for female congregants. Yet, in my experience, there are many more with inadequate or bad spaces for women. Still, other mosques bar women from entering altogether. The prayer experiences of many Muslim women are too often frustrating; mosques seem to be built to cater only to the male experience. Yet it is my optimistic belief that as more people see photos of the spaces women must pray in, and hear our stories, we will gain more male allies, who will collaborate with us to improve the situation.

Makki also posts quotes from readers and articles that relate to the ongoing debate about the role of women in the mosque, often revealing the frustration and sadness felt by women who are barred from fully participating in the religion they earnestly practice.

Ruwaida Gafoor comments, “I feel that many women in my community don’t attend the Jummah salaah because we have been conditioned not to do so. Also, the masjid is designed in a way that deters women from attending.”

Evidently, there must be a change in mental attitudes as well as physical spaces to properly make a difference.

Makki celebrates the beauty of mosques around the world, but brings up the very valid point that it’s unfair for women to worry about the invididual attitudes of each specific mosque before they enter. In a post titled, “70 Insanely Beautiful Mosques Around the World,” she reflects:

Each time I see a particularly stunning mosque, I immediately wonder, “Is there a women’s prayer area? Do they keep it unlocked during prayer times? If I were ever blessed to visit this beautiful mosque, would there be an adequate place for me to pray?”

Not having to immediately think about these questions when seeing a mosque you ache to pray in, that is Muslim male privilege.

Another quote by Rashid Patch succinctly addresses the blog’s position on the issue of women’s place in the mosque: “If women can’t enter, it doesn’t count as a masjid.”

via Women’s Prayer Spaces Featured In ‘Side Entrance’ Blog: A Call For Improved Conditions In Mosques.

August 10, 2013
Turkey and Islam: Dress tests | The Economist

Turkey and Islam

Dress tests

New frontiers in Turkey’s culture wars

Feb 16th 2013 | ISTANBUL |From the print edition

They hide you

“STAR TREK”, said one commentator. “They may as well wear a burqa,” huffed another. Supposedly chaste new uniforms for Turkish Airlines (THY) cabin attendants have triggered mirth and horror in the cyberworld. They have also sharpened debate about creeping conservatism under the mildly Islamist Justice and Development (AK) government. With its embrace of overt piety and family values, AK is more like America’s religious right than Iran’s mullahs. But secularists feel beleaguered.

THY’s ankle-length caftans for women and silver-brocade coats for men seem impractical. Dilek Hanif, who designed them, insisted they were “just several among many other proposed models”. THY backed her claims with photos of more sensible gear. The carrier, which now flies to 219 destinations, was last year voted “Best Airline Europe” by Skytrax, an airline quality-ranking programme, for a second time.

Fresh controversy erupted when it emerged that THY has scrapped booze on all domestic flights save six (including Ankara and Istanbul). Eight foreign destinations in Africa and the Middle East have also gone dry. “We are globally sober,” tweeted Bulent Mumay, a journalist for Hurriyet, in a dig at THY’s advertisement, “Globally Yours”. The airline justifies its move on the ground that there is insufficient demand by Anatolian and other Muslim passengers.

More likely, some say, it wants to please Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a militant teetotaller, who while mayor of Istanbul led a campaign to scrap drink in municipally run restaurants. Yet like the similarly pious president, Abdullah Gul, Mr Erdogan tolerates drinking on his official jet. Even so, many Turks pander to his piety. At a fashion fair in December organisers removed naked mannequins before his arrival. Producers of “The Magnificent Century”, a popular mini-series about Suleiman the Magnificent, shrank his beloved wife Roxelana’s cleavage after Mr Erdogan complained that “our Ottoman forebears are being misrepresented”. After ten years of AK rule Turkey is richer, more powerful—and less fun.

From the print edition: Europe

via Turkey and Islam: Dress tests | The Economist.

February 15, 2013
OIC enhances Muslim women’s role

JEDDAH, 28 Muharram/24 Dec (IINA)-Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, has praised the Muslim women role in bringing about socio-political changes in the Middle Eastern countries, assuring that his organization was all out to provide ample opportunities for broader women social role.

“What has been achieved in those (Arab) countries was possible because women stood side by side with their male partners” he remarked. On Friday in his statement at the “Change in Muslim Societies and the Role of Women International Conference” in Istanbul, Ihsanoglu stressed that only through women’s increased participation in political, social and other spheres the societies will make headway towards dynamic progress, says an OIC report Friday.

He on the occasion highlighted the major efforts by OIC to enhance the role of Muslim women in member countries of his 57-state Organisation.

In this connection he referred to the first ever Ministerial Conference on Women’s Role held earlier in Istanbul establishment of the functional Department of Family Affairs in the OIC General Secretariat as part of implementation of the Ten Year OIC Program of Action was another forward step. It is the OIC’s commitment for advancement of women in Muslim societies, he reminded.

He also referred to the establishment of an OIC Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights (IPCHR) as a very significant development in the Organisation which constitutes a welcome sign for mainstream human rights, including rights of women.

Four of the total 18 members of the Commission are women, a testimony to the OIC’s gender equality commitment. “I firmly believe that the four women members of the IPCHR can play a commendable role in strengthening the rights of women in Muslim societies” he asserted.

AH/IINA

via OIC/Women: OIC enhances Muslim women’s role.

December 28, 2011
New political role of women in Islamic world to be raised in Istanbul on 21-25 December

New political role of women in Islamic world to be raised in Istanbul on 21-25 December

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. International conference “Role of women in changing Muslim society” will be held in Istanbul on 21-25 December by the Parliamentary Assembly of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) and the Ministry of Family & Social Policy of Turkey.

Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis reports that at the conference to be opened by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the country will be represented by MP Govhar Bakhshaliyeva.

The conference will cover national experience of formation of mechanisms of gender equality, women’s participation in politics and strengthening of democracy, women’s rights in changing Middle East and North Africa, Islam and democracy, establishment of gender equality institutions.

The foreign media report that precisely women provided victory of radical Islamic parties in the last elections in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt (in this country, the electoral process will end on 10 January). Neither the OIC nor Turkey do want to stay away and miss the implications of the political awakening of the orthodox Muslim women.

via Azerbaijan Business Center – New political role of women in Islamic world to be raised in Istanbul on 21-25 December.

December 22, 2011
Istanbul Working to Make Mosques More Female-Friendly

Turkish women pray in the courtyard of the Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, (File Photo)

InTurkey’s largest city, a revolution is occurring in its mosques. A project has been launched to make the mosques female friendly. But the initiative is not without controversy.

Kadriye Avci Erdemli is talking with one of Istanbul’s Imams over the state of the women’s section of his mosque. The small area is filthy and cramped. Erdemli is Istanbul’s deputy muftu, the city’s second most senior official responsible for administering the Islamic faith. She is in charge of a radical program to make mosques female friendly.

“This is the first project of its kind in the Muslim world.” she said. “When a woman steps into a mosque she is entering the house of God and she should experience the same sacred treatment. In front of God, men and women are equal.”

Since March, Erdemli has sent out scores of teams to visit some 3,000 mosques in Istanbul to assess the facilities for women. Erdemli says the discoveries are shocking. “Many mosques had no toilets for women or indeed any place for them to wash,” she says. “The areas for women were either filthy or used as storage depots,” she said.

But it’s not just about cleaning up the mosques. Partitions separating men and women, whether it’s a wall or a curtain, are also meant to come down, although women will not be praying side-by-side with men, but behind them. The mosques have until February to implement the changes.

But change isn’t always easy, especially in the realm of religion. And for the past couple of months Erdemli has held almost 40 meetings with imams and religious officials across the city to explain the reforms are in compliance with the Koran.

On the streets of Istanbul there appears to be broad support for the changes among religious women. Thirty-year-old Ayse Gul is typical. “The women’s sections are much smaller than the men’s – they’re almost like spaces left over, at the back or in the corner. It’s time women got more and cleaner areas to pray in,” she said.

Ayse Gul is part of Turkey’s rapidly growing Islamic middle class which emerged under the decade long rule of the pro Islamic AK party.

The AK party has also lifted or eased restrictions in education and employment for women wearing islamic headscarves.

Professor Istar Gozaydin an expert on religious affairs at Istanbul’s Dogus University says the opening up of mosques to women is being fueled by the growing number of professional women. “We see more and more (Islamic) women are getting educated in the universities women are attending work place and they’ve been able to become more visible in the society. Previously they were more in their homes previously took their traditional roles taking care of the kids. Now more and more women are participating in the professional lives. And they want to be part of the mosque system,” he said.

But not all are happy with such developments. Islamic newspaper columnists have strongly criticized the initiative accusing it of encouraging women to leave the home and adopting western lifestyles. And their criticism is being echoed by the male faithful.

The call to prayer at Istanbul’s Suleymania mosque summons worshippers. Many here have misgivings about the initiative. Fifty-year-old Mehmet Gul is a local shopkeeper who says, “I think the place for women is their home. They should practice their prayers at home. The mosques are not big enough even for men,” he says. “Especially on Friday prayers and during religious festivities there is not enough room for men. It’s not good for women to come.”

But even some women have reservations, especially over removing curtains and walls separating the male and female worshippers.

“Women must be separated from the men. There has to be a curtain. This is the religious code of conduct,” said one woman. “The women are “mahrem”, [or] forbidden, and the men should not be able to see them.”

Deputy Muftu Erdemli acknowledges there is still much work to do in winning over the hearts and minds of the faithful, even among some women. But she’s also convinced there can be no turning back.

via Istanbul Working to Make Mosques More Female-Friendly | Middle East | English.

December 16, 2011