İkinci Dünya Savaşıı’nda Kadınlar: Yeniden Üretim ve Toplumsal Rıza Bağlamında Kadınlara Yönelik Söylem ve Politikalar
Women in The Second World War: Discourses and Policies Towards Women in The Context of Reproduction and Social Consent

Author(s): Ayla Ezgi Akyol Giagtzoglou
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Gender history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949)
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Second World War; women; war economy; reproduction; social consent;
Summary/Abstract: Wars were periods when, the state’s concern for legitimacy, its need for the social consent relatively increased. In such a conjuncture, women as a social subject find more space on the agenda of political elites. One of the main reasons for this is that the political support of the male population at the front for the mobilization policy is closely tied to ensuring the livelihood of their families and guaranteeing the role of their wives in the household. Another reason is that women at the home front become more dependent on wages, they are also more affected by the economic consequences of the war such as the black market, inflation, price speculation and lack of access to necessities; this creates a social contradiction that needs to be resolved by political elites. A third reason is that the control and discipline of female fertility has become one of the main issues of politics due to the social role of women in the reproduction of “human resources”. Thus, from the reproduction of social consent during wartime to the management of poverty, from the legitimization of war to the continuity of production and social reproduction, women become one of the main agendas of political elites.During the Second World War, although the Republic of Turkey did not officially participate in the war, a policy of mobilization was adopted, a statist war economy based on excessive taxation was pursued and access to necessities became difficult due to the high rate of inflation, price speculation and black market. This article scrutinizes the involvement of women in the political agenda during the Second World War. Drawing upon the reports of the Parliament and state archives and newspapers and magazines of the era, it investigates the discourse crafted by political actors to reinforce the war’s legitimacy vis-à-vis women. It also examines the policies pursued by political elites to address the increasing poverty among women during the war, along with the contradictions experienced by women in production and reproduction processes. Furthermore, the article addresses the formulation of social policies concerning reproduction of women’s domestic societal roles, family and birth control.

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