The Vanishing Headscarf: The Case of Girls Taking Off Their Headscarves

In recent years, discussions around certain matters related to religion and religiosity in Türkiye have increasingly come to the fore. Indeed, many of these debates are taking place almost simultaneously all around the world. Moreover, these matters are being discussed not only in the Islamic world but also among Christians, Jews, and believers of many other religions. Issues like atheism, deism, and LGBT are perhaps the most pre-eminent among these discussions. Recently, another matter has been added to these debates: cases of Muslim women removing their headscarves. This phenomenon, which mostly involves young women, is not only a reality in Türkiye but also in many other countries of Muslim-majority, where it has become too much visible to ignore, at least in terms of quantity.

These incidents, which were rare in the past, have become so widespread that there is no longer anyone who can say I don’t know someone that has removed their headscarf. Parallel to this, concerns within religious communities, especially about the youth pietism, have increased significantly. Initially, there were claims that the visibility of these cases exaggerated by the media, making it seem like there were more incidents than there really were. However, these claims have weakened over time. Additionally, the approach of “let’s not focus on this issue so as not to increase its visibility and thus its prevalence” is no longer seems to be adopted.

The ideas and debates surrounding this issue, which has strong religious and psychological aspects, are often fail to go beyond personal opinions and substantially are far from scientific basis. Unfortunately, despite the necessity for in-depth research by social scientists and religious scholars, studies on this subject have not reached the expected level of quantity and quality. This social reality that has not been fully clarified and the necessity of studying to understand this fact in depth compelled me, as a researcher in the psychology of religion, to conduct a comprehensive field study. It was necessary to establish direct contact with girls who had removed their headscarves and listen to the different aspects of the issue from them to reach the truth. In this regard, we conducted in-depth interviews with 102 young women who had removed their headscarves, reaching a large group of participants for a qualitative study. We obtained concrete information not only about the reasons for their decision to remove the headscarf but also about their regrets, wishes and most importantly, their current religious states. A year after completion of research, encountered  new cases and gathered new data confirm that the research has achieved a satisfactory level of success.

In this article, we will present only some of the previously completed research findings. Among the many findings related psychological, social, and religious issues identified in the context of the psychology of religion by the research, we will only focus on the main reasons for removing the headscarf and provide information about their current religiosity. Additionally, we will briefly address a few other points which we believe the readers will interest in. Although our research is about psychological of religion, we will leave out the psychological conditions of women who have removed their headscarves for another article. Even so, we can share the following observation: many girls experienced psychological distress due to the strain of the process, while for a significant number, their existing psychological struggles were what led them to remove the headscarf. By the time we conducted the interviews, only a small minority reported being in good psychological health.

We can start with the answers to the question: “Why do girls remove their headscarves?” It is important to note that while our scientific approach is based on psychological, social, and intellectual factors, all of these are interrelated, and multiple factors play a role in each case. Moreover, a psychological reason may initiate a process that is completed by social and intellectual reasons, ultimately leading to a decision. Although one reason often dominates, in such cases of extremely dramatic and extremely traumatic processes in terms of their consequences, individuals tend to rationalize their decision by incorporating various other reasons, essentially justifying themselves. In cases with such a high emotional load, it seems unlikely that someone would cite only one reason for removing the headscarf. Therefore, we should note that there are multiple psychological, social, and intellectual reasons behind this phenomenon in Türkiye. Identifying which reasons apply to which cases is only possible by examining each case individually.

One of the most common psychosocial reasons behind girls’ decision of removing their headscarves is a change in their social environment, especially when they start university. The different ideas and lifestyles they encounter there significantly influence their perspectives. In this process, which some participants described as “the worm has turned”, some girls were pressured to remove their headscarves, akin to the forced removals of the period called the February 28, while others have chosen to remove their headscarves voluntarily because they find different lifestyles more appealing. Some of participants opted to remove the headscarf to escape the internal tension caused by their inability to align with the secular environment while wearing it. A noteworthy observation is that many young women reported the feeling that they were not seen or valued as individuals while wearing the headscarf and this sensation leading them to remove it. Furthermore, the perception that both conservative and non-conservative men prefer secular, unveiled women as partners caused discomfort among many women wearing the headscarf. One of the interesting results of our research is the finding that there was a reaction caused by this non-preference in a significant number of cases. Some of the participants removed their headscarves following a breakup with a man who had initially encouraged them to wear headscarf. These cases can be classified under psychosocial reasons. Other studies also suggest that those who see the headscarf as indispensable often attempt to change their environment or establish themselves in where they are, while those who believe it is negotiable opt to remove it.

Another significant finding relates to the identity and image associated with the headscarf. Many women struggle to remain veiled despite not living religiously or embracing a religious lifestyle. When confronted with the societal restrictions that come with wearing the headscarf, some of them question why they should bear the responsibility of the headscarf if they are not living devoutly. Many participants expressed sentiments like “I am not the person that I see when I look in the mirror.” Related to this is another key finding: beauty concerns in women. A majority of participants put too much importance on physical beauty, and many chose to remove their headscarves because they did not feel attractive while wearing it.

Although fewer in number, cases of removing the headscarf after questioning religious beliefs are also found in Turkey. In these cases, which should also be considered in the context of atheism and deism, certain psychosocial factors are also evident. In some cases, a psychological condition triggers a cycle of questioning, often focused on not religon itself but religious doctrines related to women. In such cases, people simply accept the belief that women’s rights and the headscarf are not religious orders, and simply take off the headscarf, and continue to stay within the realm of Islam.

As previously mentioned, once removing tendency begins, rationalizations that would legitimize and excuse removing the headscarf are evident in almost all cases. Some participants, for example, those want to be able to go to gyms like unveiled women, swim freely at the beach in summers, and attend social gatherings without feeling restricted by the headscarf, remove it and get rid of restriction and afterwards they may develop statements such as that they were forced to cover themselves or that they were covered unconsciously, or that the verses in the Quran do not fully refer to the headscarf. Some theologians’ claims that the headscarf is not a requirement in Islam provided strong support for these participants. We found that some participants, who felt the need to investigate the religious dimension of the issue, took refuge in the statements of some theologians that the hadiths are unreliable, even though they saw that the headscarf commandment is clearly present in the hadiths. As a result of the inquiries that begin with psychological problems, some may take it further and adopt ideas such as Islam is unfair to women, religion is an imposition of the patriarchal social structure, etc.

Perhaps the final observation that we need to express regarding the reasons of unveiling is that, for individuals that questioning whether to remove their headscarf or not, the decisive factor is decision about which one will be more cognitively and emotionally burdensome. We know for certain that those who find the burden of unveiling to be heavier than remaining veiled continue to wear the headscarf, while those who feel the opposite choose to remove it.

I like to share another finding that I feel compelled to add to the causal findings of the research. In almost all cases, girls report serious problems with the religiosity of at least one of their parents. In cases where one or both parents practice religion weakly or are far from religion, even if their daughters have adopted to wear headscarf, the risk of removing it still remains alive. Only a few participants said they did not see any faults in their parents’ religiosity. In the same vein, there is almost no apostasy or serious drift away from religion among respondents who say that both parents are deeply religious. As a result, it has become clear that parental religiosity is an important determinant in the cases of removing the headscarf, which has increased significantly today.

Let’s talk a little bit about the findings regarding the answer to the question “Do girls who take off their headscarves abandon their religion?” While concerns about that tendencies such as deism, atheism and agnosticism are becoming widespread among young people are increasing day by day, there is no certainty that children of religious and conservative families are also moving away from religion and losing their faith in parallel to the trend. The results of our research actually promise to give clues also on this issue. Since the cases of removing the headscarf have increased compared to the past, if it is determined that the subjects in these cases have turned away from religion or moved away from it, it can be indirectly concluded that the children of conservative families are generally moving away from religion. Our research, in which this curiosity also comes to the fore, reveals that the vast majority of girls who remove headscarves still define themselves as Muslims, and moreover, the majority of them regard themselves as pious. Furthermore, some of them stated that their religiosity, which remained at a formal level while wearing a headscarf, has now turned into a more sincere religiosity. While the number of participants who identified themselves as atheists at the end of the vortex of removing the headscarf does not exceed the fingers of one hand and the rate of cases that we call “those who questioning religion”, including those who say that they have moved away from Islam while maintaining their belief in God, is only around ten percent. Although there were many deviations from the path occured in the process of the removing the headscarf, the vast majority of the participants reported that they have not abandoned their religiosity. At this point, it is necessary to draw special attention to an issue that we have determined precisely in this research. Following the harsh reactions they receive from their immediate and distant circles, many young girls who took off their headscarves can be forced to leave their religious social environment and seek refuge in to the new communities that are suitable for them and for their new decision or build a new friends circles. In such cases, there may be stances, attitudes and behaviors that may cause families much more concern, and individuals may have to adopt a life that is diametrically opposed to the religion.

Finally, let’s touch on another issue that parents and members of religious community are very curious about. Are those who remove their headscarves thinking of wearing again? The answer to this question is negative in the short term and very positive in the long term. To elaborate on this, there were no participants who said they would wear headscarf again at present or in the very short term. This shouldn’t be a difficult situation to explain, because it is not easy for them to immediately reverse a decision that has psychologically worn them out during the decision-making and implementation process. Participants do not want to expose their weakness of not being a stable personality to the environment. On the other hand, it may not be very predictable, but wearing scarf as much as removing it seems to be an action that has a lot of emotional burden, especially due to social concerns. If making the decision to wear headscarf and implementing it can be challenging even when done for the first time at a young age, it is thought that wearing it again after removing can be much more painful. While this is the case for the short term, the majority of participants say that they may wear headscarf again in the long term, and some even report that they will return to a much more comprehensive religiosity than before. Even those who question religion, which constitute the minority, state that although they do not think it is very likely that they will wear headscarf again, their doubts may one day lead them back to religiosity and veiling, and that is in the nature of doubt, so they do not completely close their doors to return.

The visibility of girls who took off their headscarves increases through the social media that increases its effect day by day, resulted in individuals who experience psychological, social or intellectual problems that are somehow related to the headscarf, negatively. Moreover small crumbs of doubt can turn into radical decisions with the quantitative increase in role models. The increasing influence of social media and making preferences increasingly visible of course have positive effects for religiosity also but just as the melting of the polar ice caps increases the rate of melting, the increase in the number of people removing their headscarves makes new cases more easier, in other words, it also increases the rate of increase in the number of cases. It is currently not possible to predict where and how this great acceleration will result. In any case, it is necessary to conduct more research in the field. On the other hand, the scientific results that will emerge from the research must be taken into consideration by religious authorities and religious communities.