Can women choose what they wear in public or does the government regulate that?

Question

This is mainly a question for women in Turkey..Men can answer too.I'm doing this term paper on Turkey. I came upon a couple of fashion sites that were in Istanbul but it really doesn't tell me whether or not if thats what women wear in public or if thats what there allowed to wear under the hijab or burka. I was wondering because most of the clothes seemed westernized and I didn't want to assume that you were allowed to wear anything in public and receive an F for just stating assumptions instead of facts.. So if you can just either tell me what you wear on a daily basis in public or what a typical woman in Turkey wears on a daily basis I would greatly appreciate it.

Answer 1

Oh please, why people assume that Turkish women wear burka (whatever it is) in the first place. For like ages, Turkish women are free to wear whatever they want in public. They wear dresses, skirts, T-shirts, shirts, jeans, trousers, headscarf (if they want to)...

Answer 2

Like you already noticed on the fashion websites, style is very western.
Of course there are some women who choose to wear a vail, or head scarf, but at least in the larger cities, these are a minority.

There are very few laws about clothing in Turkey. The most important one, which might also clarify the attitude of the government towards a dress code for women is, that women are not allowed to wear a head scarf or anything that covers their face when working in a public institution or when entering a school or a university. This is in contrast to many European countries, where the vail in school or university is tolerated by the authorities. Therefore a small fundamentalistic or strictly religous elite, who can afford to, sends their daughters to study abroad - or some religous girls choose themselves to do so. Since Kemal Atatürk, there is a relatively strict separation of State and Religion, i.e. that the state doesn't prescribe anything that could be routed in Religion, like dress codes or special diets.

Nevertheless, you should try to respect the religous people's sense of order aswell and adhere to their rules and customs when visiting mosques or other religous places or quarters e.g. Fatih, in Istanbul. There you should make sure that you don't show leg above your knee and cover your shoulders. In some mosques women are asked to cover their head with scarfs that are provided by the administration during opening hours.

The same counts for the country side, as long as you stick to a rather conservative clothing style and don't show too much skin, the locals wont feel disturbed or intimidated. So as long as you respect their feelings, they will respect your's.

At holiday resorts like Marmaris, Bodrum,Kemer or Side virtually nobody cares what you wear - just don't go shopping in a Bikini, I am sure people would give you funny looks if you would do that at home aswell.
Topless sunbathing is generally not common nor appreciated on the Beach.

Last hint, this counts for men and women alike, when you go to a Restaurant, especially the more fancy ones don't wear anything sleaveless. Visible armpits during dinner are a no, no. And more exclusive places wont seat you.

Answer 3

oh come on!!!!!!!!! what do you people think of Turkey? Turkish women wear what the other civilized nations wear.. what is burka or hijab anyway? Im a Turkish girl & I've never heard of those things before.. the fact is foreign people or the people who havent been in turkey DONT KNOW anything about Turkey, they just speculate.. Turkey had been a civilized nation before today's civilized nations, therefore, we need some respect!! its just funny when people ask these kind of questions b/c its shows their ignorancy!! its not personal, dont get me wrong but you really need to do more research on Turkey.. I know, Im not saying that Turkey is just a western country, we have the roots from the east & the west but I wonder what other countries be like if they were in our position.. would they struggle or would they be like us and wait for other countries to realize that Turkey is not ONLY a muslim country...

Answer 4

do you have any idea that turkey had passed the law that gave women the right to vote and participate in politics, before France did??!! maybe this is not answer you're looking for or it's not the kind of statement you're gonna put to your paper, but it shows the reality. how ridiculous is that to think that Turkish women live like an Afghan or Saudi??!! Turkey is the one and only laicist country in the Islam world.There is no thing such as a regulation that resticts clothing of women..even, there is this law that restricts women to wander around with headscarf at universities and governmental offices. there is this huge debate between the university managements and the women who wants to wear a headscarf. of course this not totally your fault to think like that. i don't know your nationality but i'm totally sure that your government and your media do this totally wrong news with purpose. i see that you must be a student. a young person like you should know those kinds of things, you see. because Turkey is not a small island at a far sde of the world. It is a MODERN & LAICIST country that has EQUALITY between people that DEVELOPS every single day. And as a young Turkish woman, i'm totally free with my clothing. i and my friends have dozens of skirts!! and we have BOYFRIENDS, if you like. For instance, Istanbul, -the NY of Turkey- is a great modern city with its nightclubs etc. ANd we girls go to nightclubs and do whatever the people in NY do. anyway,i hope you will get an A+ from your paper, and with the thing you write, you & your friends will learn the real Turkey.

Answer 5

Frst of all yes you can wear whatever you want. I think the people that areusing the word LAICIST mean Secular. There is no word in English language a Laicist so I wanted to clarify. My wife and I have traveled to Turkey many times one comment I disagree with from the above is that there is no restriction on topless sunbathing and it is not rude or looked down upon. My wife has never had her top on in any beach in Turkey. We have been to beaches in Bodrum, Cesme, Fethiye, Antalya, Kusadasi. In fact inKusadasi there was a nude beach as well.
Turkish designers arbecomign very popular all arond the world. Most notably Nslihan Yargici. Also you may want to check out the web site below to have an idea.

http://www.istanbulfashion.com/

Answer 6

Turkey is a totally laical country. State doesn't regulate anything in people's private life, like fashion. In fact, Turkey's fashion industry is one of the fastest growing in Europe!

As in other european countries, like in Germany, France, Italy or Spain, it is even recommended to put off headscarfs, veils, etc. (and every other religious item, like crosses or kippahs) in public buildings! Women are absolutely free to choose what they want to wear. Only (female and male) teachers, doctors, public servants, etc. are obligated to put off every religious sign.

Don't forget, when women and men go to a mosque they are asked to wear descent clothes. But that's the same in Christian churches.
(excuse my English, please!)

Answer 7

As a guy living in Turkey , Istanbul .. Turkish ladies do where what ever they please and like. And most of them are pretty well dressed and stylish to say.

They are dressing modernly sexy and do fallow fashion as much as other girls around the world

Answer 8

I'M A WOMAN LIVING IN TURKEY AND I WEAR EXACTLY THE SAME CLOTHES THAT I'D WEAR BACK HOME IN UK.

TODAY I WENT SHOPPING IN MARKS & SPENCERS. THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER BRITISH/EUROPEAN CLOTHES SHOPS HERE AND THAT'S WHAT MOST PEOPLE WEAR.

TURKEY IS NOT AN ISLAMIC STATE, NEITHER ARE THE TURKS ARABS. ITS ABOUT THE SAME AS SPAIN OR ITALY OR GREECE. - MEDITERRANEAN MORE THAN MUSLIM!

Answer 9

Here people are Muslim but they can wear whatever they want. For example I have girl friends who wear mini-skirts or t-shirts.And I wear bikini in the summer for example or mini-skirts..Here is a free country.

Answer 10

Women can wear whatever they want because they are not Communists or socialists.