The headscarf-wearing girls of Migros.

While visiting Migros to examine alcohol-free New Year's gift baskets, the scene I encountered took me back to 1997. In those years, the military and bureaucracy joined forces to exert pressure on political Islamists, whom they saw as enemies of the regime, in every sphere. This period, known as the postmodern coup, is referred to as the February 28 process.

 

What does Migros have to do with it?

 

Migros, accused by political Islamists of selling pork, was on the opposing side. It was unthinkable for a headscarf-wearing woman to work there back then.

 

By the way, Migros does not sell pork, but this urban legend still persists. However, in a luxury supermarket chain owned by Migros, pork products are sold.

 

Capital is timid. It positions itself according to the direction of the wind. During the February 28 process, many large companies had retired generals as consultants. I don’t know if Migros had a retired general on board, but for this reason, even if Migros wanted to, it couldn’t hire a headscarf-wearing woman at that time. Migros was one of the places where headscarf-wearing women could never work.

 

What happened 28 years later that allowed headscarf-wearing women to start working at Migros?

 

This time, the dominant force is political Islam. The ruling party is the religiously referenced AK Party. Just as capital did whatever the military said during February 28, it now aligns itself with the AK Party government. Capital always looks after its profits and turnover in every era. One way or another, capital always wins. Those whose fate never changes are the ones at the bottom.

 

From what I observed, the average age of the girls working at Migros branches is around 20. This means they weren’t even born when the February 28 coup process took place. Now, times have changed. Migros, once targeted by political Islamists for selling alcoholic beverages, now employs headscarf-wearing women.

 

The fact that headscarf-wearing women can now work at Migros is a positive development in terms of normalization.

 

But was political pressure applied to Migros to hire headscarf-wearing women? I have no information on this matter.