Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T23:43:47.865Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

State Policy in the 1980s and the Future of Women's Rights in Turkey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2015

Günseli Berik
Günseli Berik*
Affiliation:
The Graduate Faculty, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The 1980s witnessed the rise of feminist and Islamic fundamentalist movements in Turkey. In diametrically opposed ways, both movements pushed the debate over women's issues and rights in Turkey into the spotlight of public discussion. The feminist movement made visible, and condemned, acts of physical violence against women, problematized women's lack of substantive rights, and the articles of the Criminal Code that discriminate against women. For the Islamic fundamentalists, on the other hand, women's right to wear headscarves in educational institutions and government offices was a focal and continuous rallying point throughout the 1980s. Less prominent have been campaigns by Islamic groups to segregate men and women in public life, by calling for separate buses, hospitals for men and women. While the feminist movement remained an informally organized, non-parliamentary opposition group, Islamists gained ground within state institutions by virtue of being a vocal constituency of the conservative ruling party in power since 1983. Apparently in response to the heightened debate concerning women's status, in the latter half of the 1980s and especially in the past year the government put legal measures into effect, creating legal obligations at the international level and institutional structures at the governmental level to address issues concerning women.

Type
Review Article
Information
New Perspectives on Turkey , Volume 4 , Fall 1990 , pp. 81 - 96
Copyright
Copyright © New Perspectives on Turkey 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akdeniz, Nalan. 1988. “Boşanmak Kolaylaştι mi?” Sosyalist Feminist Kaktüs, 2, Temmuz, pp. 44–46.Google Scholar
Ateş, Tüten. 1989. “Avrupa Sosyal Şarti ve Kadinlar,” Sosyalist Feminist Kaktüs, 8, Eylül, pp. 52–53.Google Scholar
Barrett, Michele. 1988. Women's Oppression Today. London: Verso.Google Scholar
CEDAW. 1987. “Initial Reports of States Parties: Turkey,” 4 March, CEDAW/C//5/Add. 46, pp. 1–28.Google Scholar
CEDAW. 1989. “Initial Reports of States Parties: Turkey,” 1 September, CEDAW/C/5/Add. 46/Amend. 1, pp. 1–22.Google Scholar
CEDAW. 1990. “Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under Article 18 of the Convention: Turkey,” 31 January, CEDAW/C/L.7/Add. 13, pp. 1–5.Google Scholar
Çinar, Mine. 1988. “Taking Work at Home: Disguised Female Employment in Urban Turkey,” Loyola University of Chicago, Working Paper No. 8810, September.Google Scholar
DPT. 1989a. Türk Aile Yapιsι, Altinci Beş Yillik Kalkinma Plani Özel Ihtisas Komisyonu Raporu, Publication No. DPT: 2165-OIK: 338, Ankara: Devlet Planlama Teşkilatι.Google Scholar
DPT. 1989b. Altιncι Beş Yιllιk Kalkιnma Planι, 1990-1994. Yayin No. DPT: 2174. Ankara: Devlet Planlama Teşkilatι.Google Scholar
DPT. 1989c. Altιncι Beş Yιllιk Kalkιnma Planι Öncesinde Gelişmeler, 1984-1988. Yayin No. DPT: 2190.Google Scholar
Heyzer, Noeleen. 1986. Working Women in South-East Asia. Milton Keynes and Philadelphia: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Öztürk, Sedef. 1988. “Kadin Sorunu Islamcilarin Gündeminde: Nereye Kadar?” Sosyalist Feminist Kaktüs, 2, Temmuz, pp. 38–43.Google Scholar
Gazetę., Resmi 1989. “Aile Araştιrma Kurumu Kurulmasi Hakkinda Kanun Hükmünde Kararname,” No. 20387, 29 December, pp. 4–10.Google Scholar
Gazete., Resmi 1990. “Kadinin Statüsü ve Sorunlari Başkanlιğmιn Kurulmasι Hakkιnda Kanun Hükmünde Kararname,” No. 20498, 20 April, pp. 1–4.Google Scholar
Seager, Joni and Olson., Ann 1986. Women in the World: An International Atlas, New York: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Sirman, Nükhet. 1989. “Feminism in Turkey: A Short History,” New Perspectives on Turkey, 3 (1) Fall, pp. 1–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SIS. 1984. Annual Manufacturing Survey, 1982: Preliminary Results. Publication No. 1068, Ankara: State Institute of Statistics.Google Scholar
SIS. 1990. 1989 Statistical Yearbook of Turkey. Ankara: State Institute of Statistics.Google Scholar
Kaktüs., Sosyalist Feminist 1988. “Feminist Avukatlarla Söylesi,” Sosyalist Feminist Kaktüs, 2, Temmuz, pp. 47–52.Google Scholar
Tinker, Irene and Jacquette, Jane. 1987. “U.N. Decade for Women: Its Impact and Legacy,” World Development, 15(3), pp. 419–427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar