There has been an increasingly popular trend in Turkey and among Turkish expats in Europe: DJs in headscarves who entertain at alcohol-free parties that are ladies-only in both staff members and audience.

“DJing is a complicated issue, especially as a woman,” writes Erel Eryurek, who played her own first professional set in 2007. In an industry where there are few women, a veiled DJ breaks additional stereotypes. By enhancing their visibility and taking space, they confidently claim a role in Turkey’s entertainment sector. The veiled DJs in particular smash perceptions of what visibly Muslim women can or cannot do.

Not everyone approves. Conservative Muslim men have claimed that veiled DJs playing music or doing any job at all is haram, or inappropriate for a pious woman. Some popular conservative writers have gone so far as to criticize the entire Turkish middle class: “From hookah cafes to baby shower parties, from Instagram hijabi influencers to tea romanticizing, a world of weirdness has infiltrated our lives,” wrote Yeni Safak’s Ismail Kilicarslan. He went on, “The conservative middle class and the secular middle class, hand in hand, went clearly insane.”

Nevertheless, the demand for women DJs at ladies-only parties has only increased in the last few years. Some of them have expanded their services and founded their own event companies — becoming players in the ever-growing entertainment sector. Some veiled DJs take part in not only Turkish weddings but also those of Arab or Iranian clients who reside in Turkey.