The Islamic Veil, the Domestic Environment, and Femininity

Abstract

This study aims to determine the way that the women who define themselves as religious Muslims dress and act in a manner that evokes femininity at home. During the study, focus group interviews were held with 10 religious women (9 veiled, 1 non-veiled), and in-depth interviews were held with two women who were members of the İsmailağa community. The participants of the focus group interview were highly educated, employed, and married with children. The women who were members of the community had completed primary school, were unemployed, and married with children. The data were analyzed using the discourse analysis method. The study results showed that home was a space of liberation for all the women. It was found that the highly educated employed women and the housewives who had graduated from high school have different ways of dressing and acting femininely at home. Religious Muslim women considered their home as a space of liberation for feminine actions; however, having children limited their life at home. The notion of raising an ideal generation legitimizes restrictions of religious women’s private space.