Traditional Attire Quotes
He insisted that Turks wear hats rather than the class-specific traditional headwear. Some Turks preferred the word “modernized” to “civilized.”
In 1925 his administration had passed a law banning the wearing of the traditional Muslim hat.
At the time, headwear identified the wearer’s caste and class. Fezes, Turbans, etc. were eliminated in favor of hats. This was Ataurk’s solution to two problems: He wanted to have Turkey modernize and develop along the lines of Western democracy and the traditional Islamic headgear being replaced by Western hats were daily symbols of the national modernization. The second advantage was that Turks could no longer identify caste and class by the traditional headgear and the society became much more egalitarian which it has been ever since.
He was describing the wife of the Turkish leader, Kemal Ataturk. Turkey at the time was a traditional Muslim culture where women wore burkas and very traditional Islamic female dress. Ataturk was a great reformer who placed great emphasis on reforming traditional customs of dress when supported and/or mandated by clerics. He used himself and his family as exemplars. At this particular occasion she appeared in a state ceremony wearing riding jodhpurs—pants—with leather boots and a silk blouse with no head covering. It was shocking to see an important woman in a silk blouse but absolutely astounding to see her in what was then perceived as men’s attire. Ataturk went on to completely change the nature of dress in Turkey—especially lifting the restrictions on women. See {593676}, {584524} and {610605}.
