The reason for the unique overlap, or even articulation, between the dimension of the private-public sphere distinction concerning women and family and its dimension concerning politics in Muslim societies is this: the attempts to draw women from their domestic (private) sphere into the public sphere—whose ultimate goal was to ensure the transformation of the social structure as a whole according to the Western model—were adopted by local elites as a 'modernization requirement' and, supported by legal sanctions, were tied to national policies. These national policies stripped women's entry into the public sphere of its status as a process of emancipation, turning women into objects of the conflicts generated by the state-society opposition.

The ongoing debates over the private-public sphere between the military and civilian bureaucracy and those claiming to represent the religious segments of society are debates concerning the distribution of the public sphere(s) whose framework and content are given. Viewed in this light, it appears to be closely related to the size of the slice to be carved from an appetizing cake. Those who take part in this debate as representatives of Muslims do not engage in a fundamental critique of the structuring of the public sphere, nor do they appear to have any problem with "feeling at home" in the public sphere in question.