Democracy, Modernization and the Veil Women's Relationship to Secularism in Contemporary Turkey

The headscarf, which over 60 percent of Turkish women wear in some form, has caused uproars in Turkish politics since the 1980s. Political scientists and political commentators alike have labeled the headscarf and the women who wear it a sign of an impending Islamist theocracy, proof of the end of Turkish secularism, and embodiments of the inherent patriarchy of Turkish society.