THE POLITICS OF WOMEN‟S RIGHTS REFORMS DURING THE EARLY REPUBLICAN ERA: STATE FEMINISM VERSUS PIONEER WOMEN A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY HANDE ĠREM SADĠ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MAY 2019 i ii Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Tülin GENÇÖZ Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. AyĢe AYATA Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erden Attila AYTEKĠN Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Canan ASLAN AKMAN (METU, ADM) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erden Attila AYTEKĠN (METU, ADM) Prof. Dr. Berrin KOYUNCU LORASDAĞI (Hacettepe Uni., SBKY) 3 PLAGIARISM I hereby declare thatall information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Hande Ġrem SADĠ Signature: iii ABSTRACT THE POLITICS OF WOMEN‟S RIGHTS REFORMS DURING THE EARLY REPUBLICAN ERA: STATE FEMINISM VERSUS PIONEER WOMEN SADĠ, Hande Ġrem M. Sc., Department of Political Science and Public Administration Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erden Attila AYTEKĠN May 2019, 148 pages The objective of this thesis study is to analyze the nature, objectives and the repercussions of “state feminism” which pioneered the secularization and modernization reforms during the early Republican period in Turkey (from 1923s to the 1940s) and implemented in the context of an authoritarian regime until the late 1940s. It emphasizes the continuity between Ottoman-Turkish modernization and the Republican transformation of women‟s rights by inquiring into the stands of nationalist and feminist modernizing women pioneers vis-à-vis egalitarian reform policies of the male-dominated state in the context of state and nation- building processes. This study especially focuses on the impact of a dilemma created for the women activists of the era, who were committed to the nationalist- collectivist ideals of the Republic as well as to the women‟s rights. To this end, it aims to contribute to the critical examination of the egalitarian reforms of the early Republican era by analyzing the emancipatory ideals and discourses of the prominent women activists, Nezihe Muhiddin and Halide Edip. While both women were committed to the Kemalist revolution and held feminist ideals, both were silenced by the authoritarian regime and experienced this dilemma. iv Keywords: State Feminism, Women‟s Rights, Nationalism, Dilemma, Pioneer Women. v ÖZ ERKEN CUMHURĠYETĠ DÖNEMĠNDE KADIN HAKLARI REFORM POLĠTĠKASI: DEVLET FEMĠNĠZMĠ KARġISINDA ÖNCÜ KADINLAR SADĠ, Hande Ġrem Yüksek Lisans, Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Erden Attila AYTEKĠN Mayıs 2019, 148 sayfa Bu tezin amacı, Türkiye‟de Cumhuriyet‟in erken döneminde (1923‟lerden 1940‟lara kadar) laikleĢme ve modernleĢme reformlarına öncülük eden ve 1940‟ların sonlarına kadar otoriter bir rejim bağlamında hayata geçirilen Kemalist “devlet feminizmi”nin niteliğini, amaçlarını ve yankılarını analiz etmektir. Feminist ya da feminizm yanlısı öncü milliyetçi-modernleĢmeci kadınların devlet ve ulus oluĢturma süreçleri bağlamındaki erkek egemen devletin eĢitlikçi reform politikaları karĢısındaki duruĢunu inceleyerek, Osmanlı-Türk modernleĢmesi arasındaki sürekliliği vurgular. Bu çalıĢma özellikle, Cumhuriyet‟in milliyetçi- toplumsal ideallerine ve aynı zamanda kadınların haklarına bağlı olan çağın kadın aktivistleri için yaratılan bir ikilemin etkisine odaklanmaktadır. Bu amaçla, dönemin önde gelen kadın aktivistlerden Nezihe Muhiddin ve Halide Edip‟in kadınlar için özgürleĢtirici ideallerini ve söylemlerini de analiz ederek erken Cumhuriyet dönemindeki eĢitlik reformlarının eleĢtirel incelemesine katkıda bulunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Her iki kadın da Kemalist devrime bağlıyken ve feminist idealleri sürdürürken, otoriter rejim tarafından susturulmuĢ ve bu ikilemi yaĢamıĢlardır. vi Anahtar Kelimeler: Devlet Feminizmi, Kadın Hakları, Kemalizm, Milliyetçilik, Ġkilem, Öncü Kadınlar. vii To My Mom viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erden Attila AYTEKĠN, for his guidance, patience and endless encouragement he has given me during the preparation of this thesis. I also take immense pleasure in thanking the members of my thesis committee, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Canan ASLAN AKMAN and Prof. Dr. Berrin KOYUNCU LORASDAĞI for their invaluable advice and support. I especially cannot find words to express my gratitude to Canan ASLAN AKMAN for her stimulating questions and insightful comments which have been an inspiration to me throughout my research. I am indebted to my friend Semih Bugari who has always used his best endeavors whenever I felt despairing during the preparation of the thesis and Kubilay Atik who is also a very kind friend who has helped me in my researches. I wish to extend sincere appreciation to my best friend Ramize Karakan who never omits her support not only during this difficult time but also throughout my life. I wish to make a particular expression of gratitude to my aunts, Elif Sadi and Ece Koçak for their continuous moral support. Last but not least, words are inadequate to express my gratitude to my mom Mualla Koçak, and my aunt Müzeher Koçak, who have had such great faith in me. They have always accompanied me on my journey of life with their heartfelt support, even if this process is arduous at times. Without them, I would never have dared to start this thesis. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................... iv ÖZ…………… .................................................................................................. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................... x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................... xii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 1.1. The Subject Matter, Scope and the Research Question of the Study....... 1 1.2. Research Procedure ................................................................................ 12 1.3. The Organization of Thesis .................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 2 ..................................................................................................... 17 WOMEN‟S RIGHTS DURING STATE- BUILDING PROCESSES AND NATIONALIST PROJECTS ........................................................................... 17 2.1. Contextualizing Equality Reforms and Feminist Struggles for Women in Nationalist and State Building Periods ............................................. 17 2.2. The Antecedents of the Kemalist Reforms: Women and Modernization during the Tanzimat and the Constitutionalist Period in the Ottoman Era ................................................................................ 28 2.2.1. Reforms of the Tanzimat Period on Women‟s Rights .................... 29 2.2.2. Reforms of the Constitutional Period on Women‟s Rights ............. 36 x THE PARADIGM OF KEMALIST “STATE FEMINISM”: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE “NEW WOMEN” IN THE NEW TURKISH SOCIETY .......................................................................................................... 50 3.1. The Context of Women‟s Integration into the Nationalist Project and the Polity Prior to and After the Turkish Republic ............................... 51 3.2. Secularization Reforms and Women‟s Rights ........................................ 57 3.2.1. Secularization Reforms of the Republic .......................................... 57 3.2.2. Women‟s Rights Reforms within the Republican Transformation . 62 3.2.2.1. The Turkish Civil Code and Women‟s Equal Citizenship ........ 64 3.2.2.2. Women‟s Voting Rights (Universal Suffrage) .......................... 67 3.2.2.3. Reforms on Women‟s Access to Education .............................. 70 CHAPTER 4 ..................................................................................................... 76 PIONEER WOMEN VERSUS STATE FEMINISM ....................................... 76 4.1. Women, the Republican Transformation and the State Feminism of the Early Republican Period .................................................................. 76 4.2. The Construction of the “New Women” in the “New Society” ............. 80 4.3. Pioneer Women and Their Dilemmas between Nationalist Imperatives and Women‟s Interests ...................................................... 94 CHAPTER 5 ................................................................................................... 113 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 113 REFERENCES ...............................................................................................