Headscarves

This is a big issue here.
First some style points:
• Above, on the left is the traditional village look. Scarf is wrapped loosely around the hair and tied in the back. Scarf is usually cotton with embroidered edges. It’s OK for hair to show.
• On the right is the religious look, which is also a political statement. Mostly seen on women under 35. An underscarf is worn that covers all hair. There is also a sort of stiff visor that is wrapped in the outer scarf, which is silk or other satiny material. The whole thing is pinned under the chin so no neck shows, and tucked into one’s overcoat. The chic look at the moment is for the back of the head to appear puffy, like one has a big bun of hair under there. I imagine the religious headscarf takes getting used to, as you’d have no peripheral vision, and it would be quite hot under there.
• Not shown, the mature lady look—much like an American lady in her 60s would put a scarf over her permanent to keep it from getting mussed.
• Very elderly ladies wear white cotton scarves, which I think looks great and will remember for my decrepitude ☺.
I have not a single Turkish women friend who wears a headscarf. I have barely spoken to a woman in a religious headscarf. My housekeeper wears a village scarf, and her hair is short underneath (it looks great, btw). I see many girls wearing headscarves as they walk on the university campus, but they may not wear them into the classroom. This is the law as directed by Ataturk. No headscarves are allowed in any government buildings.
A professor friend recently proctored an exam in another department and she told me that female students asked her if they had to remove their scarves before entering the classroom (of course she told them to). The scarves represent the religious right, and the probable next president’s wife wears one. It’s got Turks totally riled up. If I were a Muslim woman, I’d be worried too. Covering my body, my hair, my femininity, would be impossible for me.