Authors: Hale Albayrak, Zeynep Sude Sönmez, Ali Erdem Altun
Translated from Turkish to English by: Beyza Çavdar
Hijabwashing was the concept we coined in our piece about the Paris Olympics last year. We came to realize that there was a huge gap in the literature regarding the issue; this kind of conceptualization had never been articulated before. The headscarf debate, especially in Turkey, is a topic that’s on every table, that has been trampled over, and also resonated and manipulated by various groups on social media. Much like the story of the blind men and the elephant, everyone thought they had surrounded it; everyone assumed they had defined it. Still, not a single one was able to speak about the experience without forcing it to fit into a category.
It is clear to everyone that the hijab, despite being an outright religious obligation, has been turned into a tool for governments and corporations to consolidate their power in the current societal cultures. The concept of Hijabwashing refers to this suppression and violation of rights and underlying discrimination while constructing a narrative in which it seems as though women are benefiting from this advertising industry and their ads.
We are fairly familiar with this concept, due to related concepts such as Pinkwashing and Greenwashing. To put it briefly, pinkwashing is known as LGBTQ+ marketing and is used as a strategy based on superficially sympathetic messages aimed at LGBTQ+ individuals for purposes unrelated to LGBTQ+ equality. One of the most up-to-date examples of this could be Israeli soldiers drawing LGBTQ+ flags on the bombs dropped on Gaza or their ironic poses with LGBTQ+ flags in front of the camera.
Similarly, Greenwashing refers to the practice of corporations using environmental messages to appear more eco-friendly and leave a positive impression on the public, even though, in reality, they do the opposite by producing, supporting, or profiting from environmentally harmful practices. An example of this could be the 63 million dollar sponsorship agreement signed in December 2023 by the British Museum with BP, a petroleum company, also supporting Israel. This agreement was said to have been completed to increase sustainability and curb the carbon emissions of the museum.
“Hijabwashing” is quite familiar to us, Turkish people. You may not find the concept on the internet because the concept doesn’t yet possess the power of discourse to conceptualize the strategy and bring it to the ground of social consensus. But, we’ll just give one sentence that every one of us has heard of before to illustrate it, and you will get what it is the moment you hear this: “My mom is a hijabi too.”
We can mention Hijabwashing if there is a discourse on hijab in the political arena and the media that is boiled down to a shield to conceal the actual problems and legitimatize authoritarian practices somewhere. There are indeed multiple global reasons paving the way for Hijabwashing. However, the common ground for all is to seize power by gaining the approval of all segments of society and the consolidation of legitimacy. When they cannot discriminate explicitly, they have to hide their discriminatory policies with the help of Hijabwashing. It is a political ideal to expect human rights to cover every human being.
After Legitimacy through the footsteps of Hijabwashing
While companies, political actors, or simply individuals adopt this discourse to project an inclusive image in the eyes of the public, there can still be controversial dynamics behind the scenes, such as discriminatory employment policies, exclusionary institutional practices, or the systematic exploitation and marginalization of hijabi women. Thus, although the visibility of hijabi women appears to be increasing, these so-called actors are not gaining legitimacy through a genuine transformation that improves hijabi women’s economic and societal standing but rather through a symbolic and superficial form of submission.
Hijabwashing doesn’t have a direct equivalent in the West, because there, hijab is more intertwined with immigration debates. Western politicians and companies decide on their attitudes towards the hijab based on their takes on the migration issue. As a result, they feel no need to express any strategic hypocrisy. However, in countries like Turkey, Iran, and Malaysia, the hijab has taken deep roots in social and political structures, which makes it susceptible to political manipulation. Actors in need of support from conservative or religious groups, despite adopting an inclusive and supportive discourse on the surface, also maintain authoritarian and exclusionary political practices behind the scenes. Thus, the representation of hijabi women becomes instrumentalized, and oppressive mindsets grant legitimacy through hijabwashing. Here are a couple of examples we’ve noticed.
Free to wear, free to ban: Malaysia
Hijabwashing shows itself, especially in the regimes identified as Islamic populism. Islamic populist leaders often exploit the hijab as a politicized religious symbol rather than honoring its role as a religious obligation. An ostensible support for hijab and the image constructed around it conceals the crucial fact that the hijab debate has become politicized, with both sides aligning their stance in favor of their political system.
It is most evident in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, where wearing a hijab is not obligatory, but the population is mostly composed of Muslims anyway. To illustrate, in Malaysia, the hijab is promoted by the government as a holy symbol of Islamic identity. In contrast, the prohibition of the hijab for their employees in some of the hotels was not handled properly by ministers, except by simply labeling the act as discrimination. The requests from the opposition parties and the general public regarding the cancellation of those hotels’ licenses and the lifting of these bans remain ineffective in the face of the explanation made by the Malaysian Association of Hotels. By offering only symbolic support for the hijab, the government continues to gain power from the Muslim majority. However, the discrimination faced by hijabi women in professional life cannot be prevented; worse, this problem is often covered up with superficial discursive critiques. Instead of generating solutions for the discriminatory policies that are forced by the global economy, the government brings the situation onto a legitimate ground through hijabwashing.
Why is Turkey spearheading hijabwashing?
Turkey’s tumultuous political past is the very catalyst of hijab becoming a symbolic political issue in which politicians fight tooth and nail to claim space in the political arena and to attract supporters. The vulnerability of Turkey to such a manipulative strategy lies in the traumas experienced during the period known as “February 28.” Even though throughout the AKP government’s rule, we have seen several achievements regarding the visibility of hijabi women, things didn’t continue that smoothly. Over time, the promises to lift the hijab ban, initially framed through discourses emphasizing the fundamental right to wear it, went on with superficial and patronizing language, such as referring to women as “my sisters.” Hijabi women striving to assert their identity amid the shallow discourses of patriarchal powers were left perplexed about where and how to position themselves in society.
The AKP and President Erdoğan, though claiming in every electoral period that they solved the hijab issue, have used hijab as a strategy for authoritarianism, and by degrading the hijab into a simple object, they consolidated their power within the society. As a result, a sense of destituteness is created, which in turn, makes hijabi women involved in an identity restoration process.
Those who exploit this situation, or individuals simply devoid of making any differentiation, tend to label hijabi women not only as Muslim but also as AKP supporters, reactionary, and bigoted. As for the discourse of the CHP mindset, rather than addressing this central issue, it exacerbates societal conflicts even further. Consequently, it is proper and worthwhile to question the reasons why the hijab hasn’t been secured by law.
On the other hand, we can observe the discourse of national reconciliation in the last electoral campaigns of the CHP, which is surprising given that the CHP is infamous for being a prominent supporter of the ban on the hijab in public settings. Such a discourse raises many questions about the sincerity of the opposition party, for sure, as the sudden desire to confront the past comes to the surface during the electoral period, prompting doubts in people’s minds.
Less is more: Hijabi women in IBB ads
Another noteworthy matter is the increase in the visibility of hijabi women in IBB (İstanbul Municipality) ads following the latest local elections. We cannot deny that it is a positive step to see hijabi women in such ads; even though they are the majority in Turkey, they have been underrepresented so far. However, considering the CHP municipalities’ former policies, it is not baseless to question whether this increase in the visibility of hijabi women could be a political strategy.
Therefore, it is an undeniable possibility that the rising visibility serves a political purpose. Is IBB embarking on such a rising visibility, genuinely to increase the representation of hijabi women, a right they clearly have, or to present hijab as a safe symbol to both its own voter base and conservative circles? If we are to talk of a sincere change, why does the CHP base still appear deeply distant from recognizing hijabi women as modern, educated, and autonomous individuals, and why do they struggle to show respect for hijabi women’s existence?
Hence, the sincerity of this issue rightfully can be questioned, considering not only the current opposition but also the possible reactions of any potential opposition towards hijabi women who don’t show obedience to their own norms. It is undeniable that hijabi women, whether seen as “sisters” or “not like other hijabis”, face even more discrimination when they show up as individuals with their own voices outside the confines of dirty, predetermined ideological molds. The detentions during the Palestine protests, the attitudes of police officers toward hijabi women, and the challenges these women face in professional life, such as being rejected from jobs or excluded from specific sectors, demonstrate that the so-called freedom to wear the hijab hasn’t moved beyond political rhetoric.
“The Other”
Politicians’ ongoing obsession with the very molds they created by turning the hijab into a political tool has resulted in “the other” hijabis. This group is accepted by neither the conservative regime nor the secular opposition, and they themselves also don’t feel attached to either side. No group leaves room for forms of existence other than their own, which ultimately paves the way for much of the population to enter a phase of identity crisis, feeling lost both in social and professional life.
Perplexed minds question any hijabi women breaking the molds regarding who they are, and they also encounter a rejection of their very existence. A marginal hijabi woman is perceived as a new brand of existence that is best eliminated in every environment she enters, based on shallow assumptions, as she cannot be understood. She also creates a sense of uneasiness because she is free from any mold. In search of a new place in other neighborhoods, marginal hijabi women run into an explorer with a colonial hat who acts like he’s seen a new African tribe. These hijabi women have to accept the cliché of the explorer saying with a gleam in his eyes, “How different you are, not like,” and reply only with a daunted appreciation, continuing their lives with the typical, “At least I am not excluded,” consolidation.
When it comes to politics, art, academia, or the public arena, hijabi women are either ignored or are expected to fit into certain molds. While some treat these hijabi women as a showcase ornament, others see no problem meddling in how they should wear their hijab. Moreover, they want them to be thankful and feel indebted to them. And this is precisely where the Hijabwashing tactics of companies, corporations, and political figures come into play. We should be aware of the ones who seem to be supporters in the ads, campaigns, and discourses but maintain discriminatory policies against these women behind the scenes. Because we are no longer buying such cheap tactics. Hijabi women are neither sisters of someone nor
decorative objects. They just exist.