Women’s Coalitions beyond the Laicism–Islamism Divide in Turkey: Towards an Inclusive Struggle for Gender Equality?

Abstract

In the 2010s in Turkey, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) authoritarian-populist turn accompanied the institutionalization of political Islam. As laicism was discredited and labeled as an imposed-from-above principle of Western/Kemalist modernity, the notion of equality ceased to inform the state’s gender policies. In response to AKP’s attempts to redefine gender relations through the notions of complementarity and fıtrat (purpose of creation), women across the political spectrum have mobilized for an understanding of gender equality that transcends the laicism–Islamism divide yet maintains secularity as its constitutive principle. Analyzing three recent attempts of women’s coalition-building, this article shows that, first, gender equality activists in the 2010s are renegotiating the border between secularity and piety towards more inclusive understandings of gender equality; and second, that struggles against AKP’s gender politics are fragmented due to different configurations of gender equality and secularity that reflect class and ethnic antagonisms in Turkish society. The article thereby argues for the need to move beyond binary approaches to secularism and religion that have so far dominated the scholarly analysis of women’s activism in both Turkey and the Nordic context.

The question of collaboration between secular feminists and pious feminists in Turkey

“…If we were to reduce to its simplest form, the secular/pious disagreement in the women's rights movement is about the political meaning behind the headscarf and the contestations between the pious and secular lifestyles, broadly construed (Arat, 2016; Göle, 1996; Navaro‐Yashin, 2002). Although the main conversations around the headscarf have shifted after the raise of the legal ban on wearing the headscarf in public institutions in 2014 and secular/Kemalist women started to adopt a more strategic stance towards the headscarf to appeal to pious women who are vocally critical of AKP (Çağatay, 2018), the headscarf continues to be a contentious symbol and a source of disagreement. Yet, there is more to the secular‐pious disagreement in the women's rights movement than the headscarf.…”

“…The first one points toward the growing numbers of feminist coalitions, alliances, networks, online forums, and civil society projects. Thus, there are more opportunities for different women's rights groups to work together in issue‐specific platforms, mass demonstrations, and social media campaigns against the common threats faced by all women (Çağatay, 2018; Göker, 2019; Onar & Paker, 2012). The second trend indicates that the identity‐ridden conflicts between different women's rights groups have become stronger under rising authoritarianism and conservative regulations of gender norms under AKP (Justice and Development Party) (Çavdar, 2022; Coşar & Gençoğlu‐Onbaşı, 2008; Simga & Göker, 2017).…”

“…The result was a complete shrinking of the civil society, which has left a highly limited and restricted room for the women's movement to flourish. Therefore, while the 1990s and 2000s meant accelerated democratic reforms and rising opportunities for different women's groups to collaborate, AKP's New Turkey since the 2010s has pushed the women's movement to the opposite direction led by an antiwomen, antigender, antifeminist state agenda that favored institutionalizations of “gender justice” rather than “gender equality” (Çağatay, 2018). This has in turn led to unprecedently high numbers of femicides increasing year by year as well as heightened levels of sexual violence, harassment, and domestic abuse.…”

Transforming Conditions of Feminist and LGBTI+ Activism

“…Throughout the 2000s, Turkey's commitment to mechanisms of global governance (e.g., UN processes like CEDAW) and Europeanization granted feminist and LGBTI+ organizations access to a wider range of funding and possibilities to participate in decision-making processes. Although governance and funding processes had ambiguous effects in the activist field, organizations were able to successfully press their demands on the state especially with regard to anti-discrimination laws in line with the EU human rights framework (Aldikacti Marshall 2013;Çagatay 2018;Kardam 2005;Müftüler-Baç 2012;Muehlenhoff 2019). The political environment for feminist and queer struggles changed dramatically in the 2010s.…”

1 May: Muslim Women Talk Back—A Political Transformation of Secular Modernity on International Workers’ Day

“…On one side it is made into a direct threat against Christianity; on the other hand, and not least in Sweden, Islam and the veil are also constructed as threats to modernity and gender equality. The veil is posed as a contrast to the strong idea that there is only one modernity developed in a secular rationality; the veil is associated with traditionalism, reactionary forces and oppression against women (Asad 2009;Çağatay 2018;Farris 2017;Kundnani 2015). The EU verdict potentially excludes Muslim women in Sweden from not only the European labour market but also what is sometimes understood to be the most modern project of all: the Swedish gender equality regime .…”