Culture and traditions of any given community contribute to the study of anthropology in significant ways. In each society, some norms and practices are practiced form generations to generations. The cultural aspect of human existence has also evolved with reference to current happenings such as globalization. Turkey presents a case scenario in which the traditional use of head coverings has been disregarded with the recent generations. The Sunni community women used head coverings as a sign of conformance to cultural expectations of the Turkish society. The geographical location of Turkey is strategically placed across the globe. Turkey is the closest access point to Asia, Europe, and Africa.
Turkey has a population of more than 60 million people, and 98% of this figure constitutes the Muslim society. The culture of Muslim ensures that there is societal discipline by differentiating the role of every member of the community. For instance, teenage boys were traditionally considered suitable candidates for forming a base of soldiers and warriors to protect the community (Loewenthal, Kate and Lamis 163). Similarly, the culture of the Islam religion entails that women should maintain decency in dressing with reference to the set standards. As a result, there are community leaders who use the sharia cultural belief in enforcing such traditions or culture. Turkey has been on the verge of losing its moral strength as modern practices see young women dress indecently in public.
Since Turkey acts as a gateway between Asia (Middle East) and Europe, Western culture has constituted a significant part of cultural erosion. In Europe, social lives are considered liberal in the sense that people enjoy their rights without restrictions from culture. In other terms, countries such as France, the UK and Switzerland are countries whose public enjoy the freedom of expression (Loewenthal, Kate and Lamis 163). Consequently, the choice of dressing for both genders depends on one’s personal preference. This has promoted indecency in dressing as the Western culture does not judge female individuals who choose to put on short dresses. In case one causes an uproar on this behavior, women are legally protected by legal laws which prevent sexual harassment.
As a result, the influence of Western culture would be attributed to the recent cases of cultural deterioration among the Muslim community members in Turkey. It is becoming part of the Turkish society that young females put on short dresses in public without any aesthetic consideration as provided in the Quran. The situation has been worse as most community elders have been stripped off their role of enforcing cultural laws and traditions (Loewenthal, Kate and Lamis 163). The current generation of the Turkish Muslim community seems to be abiding by the Western culture more than passing on the Islamic culture of decent dressing. For instance, it is common to find teenagers in this society without the traditional head coverings in the street.
Globalization and the invention of social media platforms have contributed to the above situation in different ways. For instance, most Turkish teenagers of the Muslim community find stories online that seem to use social activism in promoting gender equality. Complemented by various principles and theories globalization, it would be accurate to state that cultural deterioration is expected to affect the traditions of most communities. For instance, it is through social media platform that the polygamy requirement of most societies has been fought. The line of gender equality should be drawn on cultural backgrounds.
Work Cited
Loewenthal, Kate Miriam, and Lamis S. Solaim. “Religious identity, challenge, and clothing: Women’s head and hair covering in Islam and Judaism.” Journal of Empirical Theology29.2 (2016): 160-170.