Feminist Movement in Turkey in the 1990s
Feminist Movement in Turkey in the 1990s

Summary/Abstract: According to a feminism worldview, womenshould have economic, social, civil, political, andcultural rights. For this, women need to go a long,controversial and interesting path. On the onehand, they are aware of their place in society, inthe state, and on the other hand, they are trying tochange the cultural norms that cause oppression.Turkey is the only country in which the major-ity of the population is Muslim, and at the sametime, it is a candidate for EU membership. Turkeyhas managed to create a progress-oriented state.This is a well-planned and calculated path withpredetermined steps, paved with the reforms of thefounder of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk(1881–1938).The problem of feminism is one of the mostlively topics in republican Turkey. The processestaking place in the Ottoman Empire at the end ofthe 19th century and at the beginning of the 20thcentury prepared a solid ground for further devel-opment of the feminist movement. On October29, 1923, after Turkey was declared a republic, thefeminist movement took a new direction.The feminist movement in Turkey wentthrough three periods. The first period includes the processes of the collapse of the OttomanEmpire and “Europeanization”, which led to theadvancement of the women’s problems to the foreand the active struggle for the rights and place ofeducated Ottoman women in society. The secondperiod was determined by the civil law on theparticipation of women in elections, adopted inrepublican Turkey in 1926. And the third onewas the period of the 1990s, when the feministmovement became more widespread and active.Feminist policies have been founded and carriedout, the role of women in government structureshas increased; feminist organizations were createdin Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya, etc.In the 1990s, the movement of Muslim fem-inists, Islamist women, known as “Islamic femi-nism”, became active in Turkey. After the creationof the republic in Turkey, religious associationscame under the direct subordination and controlof the state. There have been prepared variousprojects to solve women’s problems. Centers forthe study of women’s issues have been openedat universities. For the first time, women spokeopenly about sexual freedom, etc.

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