Zur deutschen Version: Auf die Fahnen clicken!

My Head Is Mine: Moslem women in Vienna

A documentary by Petrus van der Let and Christian Schüller

In Austria and Turkey alike, Moslem women are fighting to have their head coverings seen as a matter of personal decision and not a backward practice forced upon them. They way they dress, what or how much of themselves they show to the public or what they hide, is something they want to decide for themselves.

MY HEAD IS MINE pursues the question: what does this much discussed piece of fabric mean to the women - in Vienna and in Istanbul - who wear it.

When the 17 year-old Habibe from Krems applies for a job, she doesn't even get a letter of rejection. The reason: she wears the Islamic head scarf.

Her sister Kudret, who attends the business academy in Krems, always covers her hair, too. Although, like her sister, she speaks perfect German, she also had to fight to be accepted.

As Habibe and Kudret said, they decided in favor of the scarf of their own free will and the fact that their parents are also devout Moslems had nothing to do with their decision.

The two girls are much more integrated into Austrian life than their parents and participate in practically all aspects of the life of their friends in Krems, with the exception of religion.

Nurhan Aktas, a Viennese, also puts up a fight against the widespread notion that she is forced to wear a scarf. Nurhan is married and is a mother. She says she would never have let herself be forced by her husband to wear the scarf. For Nurhan, who works for a Viennese publishing company, covering her hair is even a form of freedom: since keeping up with fashion, the body cult and the slimming mania is increasingly difficult for women over twenty.

Her friend Gülmihri did not decide to start covering her head until three years ago. She feels sorry for Moslem men in a western country who are constantly confronted with nakedness and permissiveness.
Sibel sees no sense in wearing a scarf. Like Nurhan and Gülmihri, she was also born in Vienna, the daughter of Turkish immigrants. But for Sibel, Islam is a private matter, and so she wears her hair uncovered and dresses according to western fashion.

At the same time, Sibel does not want to adjust to Austrian culture at any price. She wants to filter out from both cultures what she thinks is best. Together with her friends, she is very active in the youth club, "Echo," which especially appeals to young people of the second generation.

At "Echo" young people of different cultures come together, not only from Turkey, but also from Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The Islamic headscarf was never an issue in this group. However, since the scarf is increasingly being viewed in Austria as a symbol for something foreign, something to be rejected, Sibel and her friends with a non-religious orientation consciously seek contact with girls who are strict Moslems.