Thesis Type: Postgraduate
Institution Of The Thesis: Middle East Technical University, Turkey
Approval Date: 2020
Student: Emine Feyza Arberk Bozoğlu
Supervisor: AYÇA ERGUN ÖZBOLAT
Abstract:Civil society organizations and the realm of civil society as a whole play a core role in terms of gender politics; however this enactment burgeons differently in the Turkish context. The position of women’s civil society organizations have been transformed through the leading positions of conservative women’s organizations in the domain state and society relations, especially in terms of gender politics. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a current analysis of the role of conservative women’s organizations in the Turkish context and the impact of the Turkish government in relation to its particular position on civil society through gender politics. It thereby aims to mainly concentrate on the conservative women’s organizations through the rule under the Justice and Development Party. Also, the study puts forth a qualitative analysis through primarily collecting the empirical data from interviews conducted with 10 conservative women’s organizations. This study shows that conservative women’s organizations have generated antithetical standpoints towards feminist literature, especially with regards to womanhood and women’s rights and this is largely linked to the space made accessible by the Turkish government and Turkish civil society itself. This study also demonstrates conservative women’s organizations discourses and agendas in terms of gender enactments as for gender equality, gender relations, gender justice, womanhood, and women’s rights.