Interview:
Sister Merve Kavakci:
Muslimah MP
http://www.gupistan.com/gallery/3/kav1.jpg
When Merve Kavakci was prevented from taking her oath in the Turkish parliament after she walked in with her hijab, in some ways it wasn’t very surprising. After all, she was only among thousands of girls and women who have been banned because of their hijab in the government, in the universities, in the society as a whole.
In fact, Kavakci’s mother was forced to quit her professorship in a Turkish university in the 1980s and Kavakci herself had to leave medical school in 1988 for the same reason. Turkey bans headscarves in schools and public offices on the grounds that it symbolizes a politicized form of Islam in an ostensibly secular nation.
This time ‘round, however, Kavakci – now a University of Texas-Dallas graduate in computer science – campaigned in her hijab for a parliamentary seat, won the election, and received her credentials from the state confirming her parliamentary status. Unlike before, the law was on her side since the parliamentary house rules do not contain any provision forbidding the hijab.
Yet, when she entered as a member of parliament for the first time, 150 members of the Democratic Social Leftist Party rose, hitting their desks, screaming, “Get out! Get out!” for a full 45 minutes. “I just sat there, looking at them shocked,” Kavakci said. “The speaker wanted me to take my oath but they physically stopped me.”
That incident brought her into instant limelight, and she has been fighting her battle courageously since. “If we want to make a difference and we really mean it, we have to be in politics. That’s why I chose politics as my area, to make a change in Turkey and for the whole humanity,” she said. “Look at my situation, it’s all over the world now. If I was allowed to take my oath and do my work, nobody would’ve known me.”
As someone who has stood firm for her beliefs, she has a lot to offer to the Muslim youth of the United States. “Have your aims and targets and go for (them). Believe in yourself. As long as you don’t do anything forbidden in our religion, we will all be rewarded,” Kavakci said. “Looking at my case, Allah is capable of everything. He can give you everything.”
She further reminded the youth that living in a non-Muslim country adds another burden and responsibility on them: “You must be good representatives of our religion. Unfortunately, now the word ‘Muslim’ is associated with the word ‘terrorists’ or ‘fundamentalists.’ American Muslims have to show the world that that is not true. Each one of American Muslims must be representative of his or her religion and enjoy the great freedom in this country,” she concluded.
She is currently lobbying in the United States for the freedom of women and human rights in Turkey while engaged in a legal fight with the Turkish government. She has been accused of accommodating and abiding terrorists and if it were not for her parliamentary immunity, she would have been arrested long ago. She also gives lectures and talks in universities and organizations about the freedom of women in general, the forced choices Muslim women have to make in Turkey between their religious values and their futures, and things we take for granted in the U.S., such as freedom of speech, religion, and dress.
She continues to be prevented from being an active parliamentary member just because of her hijab – “because I’d be a great role model, (inspiring) others,” a representative of the 70 percent of Turkish women who choose to wear hijab.
But through it all – from being ousted from med school to the parliament – she sustains her firm beliefs and her hijab remains dear to her, just like the thousands of other women in Turkey who value their religion over the cultural and political norms. “Hijab, it’s in our fitrah. It’s a natural thing that comes from inside.”
^^Believe to Understand^^**