Anti-Veiling Campaigns in Turkey: State, Society and Gender in the Early Republic

The book "Anti-Veiling Campaigns in Interwar Turkey" by Sevgi Adak explores the controversial issues of veiling and unveiling of women in Turkey since the late-Ottoman period. It analyzes the historical context and societal responses to the anti-veiling campaigns, revealing the complexities of the Kemalist modernisation process and the nuanced gender order established in the early republic.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 24 August 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Since the late Ottoman era, the veiling and unveiling of women have been contentious issues in Turkey. However, it was with the emergence of local campaigns against specific veils in the 1930s that women's dress became a matter of national mobilization, in which gender norms would be redefined. In this comprehensive examination of the anti-veiling campaigns in interwar Turkey, Sevgi Adak sheds light on the historical context in which the meanings of veiling and unveiling in Turkey were formed. By shifting the focus from the high politics of the elite to the implementation of state policies, the book situates the anti-veiling campaigns as a space where the Kemalist reforms were negotiated, compromised, and resisted by societal actors. Using previously unpublished archival material, Adak reveals the intricacies of the Kemalist modernization process and provides a nuanced reading of the gender order established in the early republic by examining the various ways women responded to the anti-veiling campaigns. A major contribution to the literature on the social history of modern Turkey, the book offers a complex analysis of these campaigns that goes beyond a simple binary between liberation and oppression.

Since the late Ottoman era, the veiling and unveiling of women have been contentious issues in Turkey. However, it was with the emergence of local campaigns against specific veils in the 1930s that women's dress became a matter of national mobilization, in which gender norms would be redefined. In this comprehensive examination of the anti-veiling campaigns in interwar Turkey, Sevgi Adak sheds light on the historical context in which the meanings of veiling and unveiling in Turkey were formed. By shifting the focus from the high politics of the elite to the implementation of state policies, the book situates the anti-veiling campaigns as a space where the Kemalist reforms were negotiated, compromised, and resisted by societal actors. Using previously unpublished archival material, Adak reveals the intricacies of the Kemalist modernization process and provides a nuanced reading of the gender order established in the early republic by examining the various ways women responded to the anti-veiling campaigns. A major contribution to the literature on the social history of modern Turkey, the book offers a complex analysis of these campaigns that goes beyond a simple binary between liberation and oppression.

Weight: 364g
Dimension: 154 x 235 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780755635061