Invigorating Democracy in Turkey: The Agency of Organized Islamist Women (original) (raw)
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Women and Civil Society in Turkey: Women’s Movements in a Muslim Society
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The book, written by Ömer Çaha who is a professor of political science and who has been working on women’s issues and women’s movement for many years, is an in-depth summary of the development of the civil society in Turkey and the role that women’s organizations and feminist movements played in this growing civil sphere. Students of political science, women’s studies and sociology might specifically benefit from the book. Since the title is Women and Civil Society in Turkey: Women’s Movements in a Muslim Society, one also wonders about the development of civil society and feminist ideas in other Muslim societies. Turkey is a country of at times contradictory worldviews – one more oriented towards the west and European mode of enlightenment and life style and the other being more oriented towards Islam and the Middle East. A comparative analysis of civil society and women’s activism in Turkey with experiences in other countries and regions would definitely necessitate the substantial data provided by the author through his wide and historical coverage and exploration of the subject matter.
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This study examines the case of two Islamist women's CSOs, AKDER and the BKP, whose agency transformed under the combined impact of the removal of the headscarf ban and the increasing authoritarian gender climate in Turkey. Based on data garnered from interviews conducted in 2012 and 2018, it seeks to understand the frames of gender, gender equality, motherhood and work-life balance that are conceptualised by these two CSOs through the employment of a critical frame analysis. In so doing it endeavours to understand and compare the change and continuity in the issue framing of these two CSOs as regards to the feminist movement in Turkey from 2012 to 2018. It argues that in the new gender climate in Turkey, while the BKP has maintained its position with regards to the frames of gender equality, motherhood and the work-life balance, AKDER's current issue framing is more in tune with the religio-conservative worldview promoted by the ruling regime in Turkey, demonstrating a clear retreat from its position in 2012. Anahtar Kelimeler: issue framing, gender equality, AKDER, BKP, post-headscarf era Benzeşen/Farkılaşan Çerçeveler: Türkiye'deki İslamcı Kadın STK'lar Örneği Bu çalışma, Türkiye'de başörtüsü yasağının kaldırılması ve artan otoriter toplumsal cinsiyet ikliminin etkisinden sonra eylemlilikleri dönüşüme uğrayan iki İslamcı kadın STK'sı olan AKDER ve BKP'ye odaklanmaktadır. 2012 ve 2018 yıllarında yapılan derinlemesine görüşmelere dayanarak, bu iki STK tarafından kullanılan cinsiyet, cinsiyet eşitliği, annelik ve iş-yaşam dengesi kavramlarını eleştirel çerçeve analizi kullanarak anlamayı hedeflemektedir. Bunu yaparken, bu iki STK'nın değişim ve sürekliliğini karşılaştırmalı olarak kavramaya çalışan bu çalışma, Türkiye'deki yeni toplumsal cinsiyet ikliminde BKP'nin 2012-2018 yılları arasında feminist çerçevelerle uyum içindeki konumunu korurken, AKDER'in 2012 yılındaki durumundan farklılaşarak Türkiye'deki iktidar rejiminin teşvik ettiği dindar muhafazakar dünya görüşü ile oldukça uyumlu hale dönüştüğünü ileri sürmektedir.
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In analyzing women’s roles in democratization processes, the gender and transition literature focuses on women’s activism before and during the transition of an authoritarian regime towards a democratic one. When it comes to the post-transitional phase; i.e. the consolidation of democracy, the literature usually shifts its focus on the participation of women in formal political institutions to see if the goals of women’s activism have been realized in the newly democratized regime. Although the participation of women in the formal political arena is important for influencing the laws, regulations and policies regarding women’s rights and gender equality, substantial changes in women’s rights regime depend heavily on the vitality of women’s civil societal organizations (CSOs) who can monitor state’s policies on women, point to shortcomings in laws, pressure for gender-sensitive institutional changes and continue to raise public awareness on women’s rights. Employing the case of Turkey’s democratic consolidation process, the paper examines the agency of organized women under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). Drawing upon the information gathered from in-depth interviews, document analysis and academic surveys on violence against women, women’s rights and discrimination against women, the paper first presents the activities of four groups of women’s CSOs in Turkey- feminist, Kurdish, Islamist and Kemalist women’s CSOs. It then outlines their participation in political decision making processes regarding the aforementioned three issue areas and how the AKP government responds to the demands of women’s CSOs. Thereby, the paper discusses the challenges and barriers women’s CSOs confront in policy making processes. Drawing on findings, the paper critically discusses the role of women’s CSOs in the democratic consolidation process in Turkey. It concludes that increased civic and political participation of organized women have engendered Turkish democracy.
Whither feminist alliance? Secular feminists and Islamist women in Turkey
Asian Journal of Women's Studies , 2017
The women’s movement has become increasingly entangled with the “ secularism versus Islamism” debate in today’s Turkey. While secular feminists believe that escalating authoritarianism and Islamic revivalism threaten gender equality and the gains of the women’s rights movement, Islamist women contest the “western/secular” ideal of gender equality on account of its being antithetical to the Islamic canon. The mutual marginalization by feminists and Islamists, mainly fueled by partisan politics, harms the much needed solidarity among women’s groups to solve the problems women face in Turkey, such as violence and unequal political participation. Moreover, this polarization has the harmful effect of reinforcing patriarchy: men, therefore face no challenges and simply continue to remain the sole producers and controllers of socio-political policies and epistemic resources. Hence, there seems to be a pressing need for secular feminists and Islamists to start a dialogue and focus on problems and issues they share in common, so as to seek urgent solutions to them. This article inquires into the viability of such an alliance through the proliferation of deliberative platforms where civil society organizations can meet at a safe distance from partisan politics and enter productive dialogue and generate policies to resolve the crucial problems women are facing in Turkey.
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This paper examines the evolution of women"s movement throughout the history, from the late times of Ottoman Empire until today. It emphasizes on the various categories of feminist movements that have been formulated, such as Kemalists, Islamists, and radical feminists, liberal and Kurdish feminists. It aims to present the change that feminist movements brought in favour of women rights by bringing "private" topics like violence against women to the political agenda, and finding solutions for women"s problems. The impact of Europeanization process cannot be denied especially in the empowerment of civil society and the formation of NGOs concerning women issues pointing out deficiencies and asking for the improvement of women"s status in Turkey.
Turkey has been passing through another dark age of its political history. In this period, while secular middle classes, Alevis, leftists and definitely most of the Kurdish population have been feeling under real threat in different ways, feminist activists have also turned into a political target of the new power block. By considering this political context as the historical framework of the research on “Women’s movements in Turkey”, this paper aims to explore the question of how to analyse women’s movement(s) within this general socio-political context of Turkey; what we should concern about while conducting a research on such topic that as had been done by this team who work at the Faculty of Education, Intercultural Education Unit, Bremen University. In other words, the particular focus of my discussion here would be the relationship between the present political context with the issues concerning women’s movement(s) in Turkey. Within this framework, I want to question the effects of neoliberal regimes on our political life and on our feminist politics. I shall also remark on how to read the inner dynamics and diversity within women’s movement(s) from a political perspective which is sensitive to the present political crisis in Turkey.
Democracy and Women in Turkey: In Defense of Liberalism
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This article examines how different groups of women, including feminists and Islamists, contributed to the process of democratization since the 1980s in Turkey. It is argued that as women sought their rights, they liberalized the polity. To the extent that liberalization protects democracies from degenerating into mere formalism, women expanded the parameters of "substantive" democracy. In the Turkish case where a strong state has traditionally stifled claims for individual civic rights, the process of liberalization women cultivated was particularly important for democratization. This article aims to explore how women in Turkey contributed to the process of democratization since the 1980 military intervention in the country. Different women's groups, feminists, Islamists, and others expanded the parameters of democratic participation as they demanded substantive rather than formal democracy. Women's activism took place in the context of a representative democracy that was struggling to liberalize itself. The critical relationship between democracy and liberalization has long been emphasized. Liberalization 1 secures civil liberties and rights to individuals and groups and protects democracy from degen-Social Politics Fall 1999
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In this paper, I reflect on the use of the term "Islamic feminism" in Turkey from the 1990s to the present. I discuss how Turkey's Islamic feminists who were once the victims and strong critics of secular authoritarianism have now become advocates of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's populist Islamist authoritarianism which has severely restricted rights and freedoms in the country. I claim that using the term "Islamic feminist" in reference to the Islamist women supporters of Erdoğan is misleading as it puts a progressive spin on their ideas and activism.
The category of gender is a topic open to discussion in poststructural, (queer-)feminist and postcolonial theory, as well as in identity politics of new social movements. The reflection on universal debates on collective subjects of women's movements comes to existence in Turkey as well. In accordance with this trend, the struggle for gender equality in Turkey faces critical interventions from women from different backgrounds, with various positionings for identities and differentiations. Even structural discrimination of, and violence against women are elements for activists to unite over, topics like dealing with diversity and building coalitions need to be put on the discussion table. By taking the historical steps of women's movements in Turkey into consideration, this paper aims to explore strategies towards the development of more productive and constructive debates on feminist issues, primarily by recognizing diversity within women's movements, enabling activists to form new alliances. This paper is based on first findings of field researches in Ankara, Istanbul, Diyarbakır, and smaller cities at the Aegean and the Black Sea Regions in 2014 and 2015 in the frame of an empirical field-research project on "Comparing women's movements in different cities in Turkey" conducted by Bremen University.