Collective Subjectivity in Feminist Activism Against
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FACULTY OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL SCIENCES COLLECTIVE SUBJECTIVITY IN FEMINIST ACTIVISM AGAINST FEMICIDE IN TURKEY Collective Subjectivity as an Intersectional Strategy in the Struggle Against Femicide in Turkey Deniz Altuntaş Essay/Thesis: 30 hec Program and/or course: Master’s Thesis in Gendering Practices Level: Second Cycle Semester/year: Spring 2019 Supervisor: Dr. Selin Çağatay Examiner: Assistant Professor Erika Alm Report no: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Selin Çağatay, my thesis supervisor, at the Department of Cultural Sciences at the University of Gothenburg, for her patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement and helpful critiques of this thesis. My acknowledgments also go to the Swedish Institute for providing me financial support with Swedish-Turkish Scholarship Programme for master’s degree at the University of Gothenburg (2017-2019). Without their support and funding, it would not be possible to conduct this study. Also, I would like to thank my mother Esma Özdemir, my cat Dada, and my family. Finally, there are my friends who were of great support in providing happy distraction to rest my mind outside of the research. I would like to express my gratitude to my feminist activist friends for their wonderful collaboration and help during the interviews and my research. i LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS, AND IMAGES Table I: Number of women who were murdered by men between 2002 – 2009 in Turkey Table II: Femicide Data for the Years 2010-2018 Collected by KCDP Chart I: Is There Equality? Perception of Gender and Women in Turkey – 2018, KHAS Image I: Numbers of gender-related killing of women and girls in 2017 worldwide Image II: Example of romanticizing femicide case by media (Murder of the beheaded: Love between the Poor Girl and the Murderer Son of a Rich Family) ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AKP Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) BDP Peace and Democracy Party (Barış ve Demokrasi Partisi) CEDAW The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women CHP Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi) CoE Council of Europe DTP Democratic Society Party (Demokratik Toplum Partisi) EHP Labor Movement Party (Emekçi Hareket Partisi) EP European Parliament GREVIO Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence Istanbul Convention Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence KAMER Women’s Center (Kadın Merkezi) KADAV Women’s solidarity foundation (Kadınlarla Dayanışma Vakfı) KCDP We Will Stop Femicide Platform (Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu) KEDV Foundation for the Support of Women’s Work (Kadın Emeğini Değerlendirme Vakfı) KHAS Kadir Has University (Kadir Has Üniversitesi) KİH-YÇ Women’s Human Rights – New Solutions Association (Kadının İnsan Hakları – Yeni Çözümler Derneği) Law No. 6284 Law to Protect Family and Prevent Violence against Woman (Ailenin Korunması ve Kadına Karşı Şiddetin Önlenmesine Dair Kanun) NGO Non-Governmental Organization SFK Socialist Feminist Collective (Sosyalist Feminist Kolektif) TBMM Grand National Assembly of Turkey, GNAT (Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi) TBMM KEFEK Committee on Equality of Opportunity for Women and Men of GNAT (TBMM Kadın Erkek Fırsat Eşitliği Komisyonu) TDK Turkish Language Institution (Türk Dil Kurumu) iii TÜİK Turkish Statistical Institute (Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu) UN United Nations UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime WHO World Health Organization iv ABSTRACT In Turkey, the data and legal regulations regarding femicide are inadequate. This research suggests that struggle against femicide which adopts an intersectional approach mobilizes women of different identities and backgrounds. This study aims to examine how collective subjectivity of the activists against femicide can be constituted among women who have different identities and experiences. I use feminist methodology to grasp the collective subjectivity of this struggle in Turkey. My position as an “outsider within” -a woman, a researcher, an activist, and an NGO volunteer who collects quantitative data on femicide- played a significant role in conducting my research. The thesis demonstrates that it is possible to constitute women’s collective subjectivity in a way that encompasses intersecting subjectivities such as being a mother, a leftist, a transgender, a student, or a disabled person. Results indicate that these differences do not cause the dissolution of the unity. The conclusion is twofold: first, urgent measures should be taken by the state and, second, the relationship between activist groups and the state needs to be recovered. Further research is needed to analyze other dynamics of the struggle against femicide such as media, economy, and politics which could enhance the effectiveness of feminist activism. Keywords: femicide, feminist activism, collective subjectivity, intersectionality, Turkey v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................................... I LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS, AND IMAGES .................................................................................................................. II LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................................................. III ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................................................... V TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................................... VI CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 1 A. The Context of Turkey .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 B. Background of the Study .................................................................................................................................................... 7 C. Aims of the Study, Scope of the Research and Definition of the Key Terms .............................................. 12 D. Significance of the Study and Research Questions ............................................................................................... 15 E. Chapter Outline ................................................................................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER II. METHODS AND METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................... 18 A. Research Methodology ..................................................................................................................................................... 18 B. Discussion on Feminist Standpoint ............................................................................................................................. 19 C. Methods of The Research ................................................................................................................................................. 22 D. Ethical Considerations and Limitations ................................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER III. FEMICIDE AND COLLECTIVE SUBJECTIVITY: LITERATURE REVIEW ............. 26 B. The Concept of Collective Subjectivity ....................................................................................................................... 30 C. Collective Subjectivity and Intersectionality .......................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER IV. DATA PRESENTATION & ANALYZES .......................................................................................... 39 A. How Do The Feminist Activists Conceptualize Femicide? ................................................................................. 41 i. Femicide is Gender-Based ......................................................................................................................................................... 41 ii. Femicide is Hate Murdering ..................................................................................................................................................... 43 iii. Femicide vs. Honor/Custom/Tradition Killings .............................................................................................................. 44 iv. Femicide: Is It Political or Not? ............................................................................................................................................... 46 B. The Motivation of Feminist Activism ......................................................................................................................... 48 i. How Did Activists Get Involved In The Struggle Against Femicide? ....................................................................... 48 ii. The State vs. Feminist Activists .............................................................................................................................................. 50 C. How And Why Is Collective Subjectivity