DIVERSIFYING FEMINISM in TURKEY in the 1990S a Master's
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Bilkent University Institutional Repository DIVERSIFYING FEMINISM IN TURKEY IN THE 1990S A Master's Thesis by METİN YÜKSEL Department of Political Science and Public Administration Bilkent University Ankara September 2003 To my mother Hasibe Yüksel and my older sister Rakia DIVERSIFYING FEMINISM IN TURKEY IN THE 1990S The Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University by METİN YÜKSEL In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION in THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION BİLKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA September 2003 I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Administration. ………………… Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tahire Erman Supervisor I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Administration. ………………… Assist. Prof. Alev Çınar Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Administration. ………………… Assist. Prof. Dr. Helga Rittersberger-Tılıç Examining Committee Member Approval of the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences …………………… Prof. Dr. Kürşat Aydoğan Director ABSTRACT DIVERSIFYING FEMINISM IN TURKEY IN THE 1990S Metin Yüksel M.A., Department of Political Science and Public Administration Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tahire Erman September 2003 This thesis attempts to diversify feminism in Turkey with a particular reference to Kurdish women’s relationship with the feminist movement in Turkey in the 1990s. The thesis argues that feminism in Turkey, to a large extent, has been ethnicity-blind as it has been implicitly assumed that all women in Turkey are of Turkish ethnic origin. Yet it is claimed that, of a different ethnic origin, Kurdish women undergo a dual oppression and subordination due both to their gender and ethnic origin. In this context, a relationship will be constructed between Black women’s experience in the West and that of Kurdish women in Turkey. These arguments will be based on a review of the relevant literature in addition to in-depth interviews carried out with nine politically active Kurdish women. Furthermore, it will be argued that Kurdish women’s political activism in the 1990s’ Turkey as ‘Kurdish women’ emanates from the fact that they were not recognized as iii ‘Kurdish’ women by the feminist movement on the one hand, and not as ‘women’ by Kurdish nationalism on the other. Despite these drawbacks of the two movements under consideration, it will be indicated that, Kurdish women’s political activism might be considered as a consequence of the configuration of these two movements. Moreover, this thesis argues that, among the many strands of the feminist theories, Black feminism has important insights in understanding and explaining the specific form of oppression and subordination of Kurdish women in Turkey. Key Words: Feminism, Ethnicity, Difference, Kurdish women, Turkey, the 1990s. iv ÖZET 1990’LARDA TÜRKİYE’DE FEMİNİZMİ FARKLANDIRMAK Metin Yüksel Master, Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Tahire Erman Eylül 2003 Bu tez, Kürt kadınların Türkiye’deki feminist hareketle ilişkilerine referansla 1990’larda Türkiye’de feminizmi farklandırmaya girişmektedir. Bu tez, Türkiye’deki feminizmin, Türkiye’deki tüm kadınların Türk etnik kökenine sahip oldukları varsayımı dolayısıyla büyük oranda etnik bir körlük içinde olageldiğini tartışmaktadır. Ancak farklı bir etnik kökene sahip olan Kürt kadınların, hem toplumsal cinsiyetleri ve hem de etnik kökenleri dolayısıyla ikili bir ezilme ve altasıralanmaya katlandıkları iddia edilmektedir. Bu bağlamda Batıdaki siyah kadınların deneyimleri ile Türkiye’deki Kürt kadınların deneyimleri arasında bir ilişki kurulacaktır. Bu iddialar ilgili literatürün taranmasına ve dokuz Kürt kadınla gerçekleştirilen derinlemesine mülakatlara dayandırılmaktadır. v Ayrıca Kürt kadınların, ‘Kürt kadınlar’ olarak 1990’lar Türkiye’sindeki politik hareketliliğinin bir yandan feminist hareket tarafından ‘Kürt’ kadınlar olarak, öte yandan Kürt milliyetçiliği tarafından da ‘kadın’ olarak tanınmamalarından kaynaklandığı iddia edilmektedir. Sözkonusu iki hareketin bu eksikliklerine rağmen, Kürt kadınların politik hareketliliğinin, bu iki hareketin konfigürasyonunun bir sonucu olarak düşünülebileceği belirtilmektedir. Buna ek olarak, bu tez feminist teoriler dizisi arasından Siyah feminizmin, Türkiye’de Kürt kadınların özgül ezilme ve altasıralanma biçimlerini anlamada ve açıklamada önemli içgörüler barındırdığını iddia etmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Feminizm, Etnisite, Fark, Kürt kadınlar, Türkiye, 1990lar. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Starting with the formulation of its research map until its submission, this thesis is the product of a considerably long process in which very many people have had their shares and contributions. Thus I consider it my duty to mention their names one by one. I should thank my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tahire Erman for her support, encouragement and contributions from the beginning of the writing process. I also thank Assist. Prof. Dr. Alev Çınar and Assist. Prof. Dr. Helga Rittersberger-Tılıç who read my thesis and put forward important comments and suggestions. Prof. Dr. Feride Acar, Prof. Dr. Chris Corrin, Prof. Dr. Yakın Ertürk and Assist. Prof. Dr. Fahriye Üstüner helped me formulate the research proposal and methodology of the thesis. Dr. Shahrzad Mojab sent me her writings on Kurdish women, which were inspiring for me. Aksu Bora, Nazik Işık and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mesut Yeğen read some parts of the thesis and provided me with valuable feedbacks. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yıldız Ecevit’s course “Contemporary Feminist Theory” played an important role in the conceptual and theoretical body of the thesis. Assist. Prof. Dr. Serpil Çakır made valuable comments on an older version of the section of Ottoman women’s movement. Zelal Ayman made notable comments on the main argument of the thesis. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serpil Sancar sent me the outline of the course she taught at Ankara University. Necla Açık, Handan Çağlayan, Asena Günal and Şule vii Toktaş helped me get in contact with the women with whom I would interview. Thanks to Zeynep Kutluata and the employees of Women’s Library and Information Center, I could reach Kurdish women’s and Ottoman women’s journals so easily. Alper and Birivan provided me with valuable logistic supplies in the process of writing the thesis. I must, one by one, thank the nine Kurdish women who participated in this study. Without their sharing with me their invaluable experiences, undoubtedly this thesis could never come into existence. Last but not least, I am deeply grateful to my family for their continuous support and belief in me. At this point I should particularly mention my dear older brother Mazhar who has always been encouraging, inspiring and mind-broadening for me throughout my studies. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………...…iii ÖZET……………………………………………………………………………...........v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………... ….vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................…..ix INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................…...1 CHAPTER I: FEMINISM AND THE QUESTION OF DIFFERENCE…….…….......5 1.1. Feminism: A Conceptual Introduction………………………….…………5 1.2. The Concept of Difference…………………………………….…………..8 1.3. A Challenging Critique of Mainstream Feminism……………………….10 1.4. Black Feminism and the Question of Difference Among Women……....15 CHAPTER II: FEMINISM AND THE KURDISH QUESTION IN TURKEY……..25 2.1. A Historical Overview of Feminism in Turkey.........................................25 2.1.1. Ottoman Women’s Movement........................................................26 2.1.2. The Period from the Proclamation of the Turkish Republic in1923 to the 1980s.........................................................35 2.1.3. The Feminist Movement in Turkey in the 1980s and 1990s...........39 2.2. The Kurdish Question in Turkey……………………………………...…53 ix 2.2.1. A Conceptual Framework: Ethnicity, Nation and Nationalism....53 2.2.2. The Context of the Kurdish Question..............................................57 2.3. Engendering the Kurdish Question in Turkey...........................................65 CHAPTER III: A FIELD RESEARCH ON KURDISH WOMEN’S RELATIONSHIP WITH FEMINISM IN TURKEY IN THE 1990S........................................................70 3.1. Methodology.............................................................................................70 3.2. Analysis of the Data..................................................................................72 3.2.1. Kurdish Women’s Positioning vis-a-vis Feminism and the Feminist Movement in Turkey............................................................77 3.2.2. Kurdish Women’s Positioning vis-a-vis Nationalism and Kurdish Nationalism...........................................................................94 3.2.3. The Specificity/Difference of Kurdish Women’s Experiences.....104 CONCLUSION