Religious affairs: women who wear perfume are immoral
Istanbul (AsiaNews) - Women who wear perfume outside of the house are immoral. This is the assertion of the Diyanet, the religious affairs department of Turkey, which has published a list of "do's and don'ts" for women in the public behaviour, and in the sexual sphere. The long list has immediately raised strong criticisms from women's rights groups. The Diyanet's blacklist includes, among other things, a ban on unsupervised women appearing publicly with men, and the obligation to be always "adequately covered".
An institution of the Turkish government, the Diyanet is the highest Islamic religious authority of the nation, but it has no legal power; its various responsibilities include that of appointing imams. Although the AKP, the moderate Islamic party of prime minister Erdogan, does not have direct control over it, the initiative is raising concerns among the supporters of the secularist state, because of the fundamentalist direction in which it seems to be leading the country. The AKP is in the crosshairs of the supreme court, because of its alleged desire to "Islamise" Turkey, violating the principle of secularism affirmed by the constitution of the republic's founder, Kemal Ataturk.
The Diyanet also addresses men, warning them that "they should not be alone with women in closed places". This aspect penalises women who work, discouraging them from working outside the home, denounce activists for equal rights. "Flirting and making dates", the document concludes, "are to be considered adultery, and abortion as homicide, spread by the moral decadence of the West".
The list is part of a more general text, a sort of catechism on how to be a good Muslim, also written by the Diyanet - explains a source cited by the Turkish Daily News - and has been in circulation on the internet since 2006.
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30/10/2006
