Kulturkampf ums Kopftuch in Afrin

Islamistische syrische Rebellengruppen versuchen, mit Duldung der türkischen Behörden in Afrin den Kopftuchzwang durchzusetzen. Mit sehr gemischtem Erfolg, wie Middle East Eye über diesen Kulturkampf berichtet:

Across the city, posters have been erected instructing women to take the Islamic veil and wear modest clothing, a shock for many residents for whom such religious conservatism is a departure from Afrin's more secular tradition.

"I have seen signs in the main streets and sidestreets calling on women to take the veil and wear loose clothing. It is disagreeable for us in Afrin," Elizabeth, a Kurdish resident of Afrin, tells Middle East Eye.

Elizabeth runs a cosmetics shop in the city, which for much of the Syrian war felt relative security under the control of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

This all changed in January, when the Turkish military and some 25,000 allied Free Syrian Army rebels began a two-month operation known as "Operation Olive Branch" to take the city.

The posters address women directly, calling them the granddaughters of the Prophet Mohammed's companions.

They tell Afrin's women that the veil is a "red line," and that they should wear loose clothing and avoid those that are translucent or figure-hugging. (...)

The initiative belongs to Ahrar al-Sharqiya, an FSA rebel group that has gained prominence in the northern Aleppo countryside and helped Turkey take Afrin from the YPG.

Selbst im der konserbativen, von Rbellen kontrollierten Nachparprovinz Idblig stießen ähnliche Kampagnen auf wenig Begeisterung:

While Idlib may be a more naturally conservative area of Syria than Afrin, a similar campaign to encourage modest dress and religious conservatism there has also faced resistance.

Posters much like the ones now seen in the former Kurdish stronghold have been widely distributed in Idlib city since it was taken by rebel groups in early 2015.

There, the campaign is led by Hayiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which under its previous guise, the Nusra Front, acted as the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda and now is largely in control of the province and its capital.

Much like in Afrin, however, Idlib residents grew resentful of the didactic posters and have tried to remove them, with little success.

According to the former director of Idlib local council’s media office, Ahmed Ghajar, soon after Nusra took the city in 2015 it launched an "Islamic awareness" campaign across the province, with the consent of the Army of Conquest, another prominent rebel group.