Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:44:12.508Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Abortion Debate and Profeminist Coalition Politics in Contemporary Turkey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2018

Didem Unal
Didem Unal*
Affiliation:
Stockholm University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article presents a qualitative analysis of profeminist Islamic women public figures’ discourses in the abortion debate in Turkey in 2012. The aim is to reveal the possibilities and limitations of achieving an intersectional and egalitarian profeminist collaboration on the Islamic-secular axis in contemporary Turkey. Drawing on recent feminist scholarship on coalition politics, the article exposes the fluctuations of meaning and the shifting frames of reference in these women's narratives and relates this hybrid, dynamic narrative quality to profeminist Islamic women's unique social location. It also elaborates on the blockage points in these narratives that hinder coalitional ways of thinking. Within this frame, this article suggests that in a social and political context that has witnessed a striking upsurge of antifeminist gender politics in the last decade, the building of coalitional profeminist politics beyond the Islamic-secular divide can be facilitated by shifting the focus from the apparently irreconcilable character of ideological positionings and lived experiences toward coalitional rhetorical strategies and intermediary narrative lines in profeminist subjects’ accounts.

Keywords

AbortionTurkeyIslamic-secularcoalition politicsfeminist solidarity
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , December 2019 , pp. 801 - 825
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2018

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The author wishes to thank the Institute of Advanced Studies of Central European University and the Thyssen Stiftung. This work would not have been possible without their financial support. The author also wishes to express her gratitude to the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their useful suggestions and comments.

References

Acar, Feride, and Altunok, Gülbanu. 2013. “The ‘Politics of Intimate’ at the Intersection of Neo-liberalism and Neo-conservatism in Contemporary Turkey.” Women's Studies International Forum 41: 14–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agerholm, Harriet. 2016. “Turkey Says Child Rape Pardon Law Can Be Amended but Refuses to Withdraw It.” The Independent (London), November 22. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey akp-child-rape-law-pardon-amended-protest-chp-amended-withdraw-a7430251.html (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Akman, Canan Aslan. 2013. “Islamic Women's Ordeal with the New Faces of Patriarchy in Power: Divergence or Convergence over Expanding Women's Citizenship.” In Gendered Identities: Criticizing Patriarchy in Turkey, eds. Dönmez, Rasim Özgür and Özmen, Fazilet Ahu. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 113–47.Google Scholar
Aksoy, Hurcan Asli. 2015. “Invigorating Democracy in Turkey: The Agency of Organized Islamist Women.” Politics & Gender 11 (1): 146–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aktas, Cihan. 2012. “Kurtaj ve Uludere Kolaji” [Abortion and Uludere College]. Taraf, May 31.Google Scholar
Albayrak, Özlem. 2012. “Kürtaj: Ya yandassın, ya katil!” [Abortion: You are either a supporter or murderer!]. Yeni Şafak, June 5.Google Scholar
Alcoff, Linda. 2006. Visible Identities: Race, Gender and the Self. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldikacti-Marshall, Gul. 2005. “Ideology, Progress, and Dialogue: A Comparison of Feminist and Islamist Women's Approaches to Head Covering and Work in Turkey.” Gender & Society 19 (1): 104–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Altunok, Gülbanu. 2016. “Neo-conservatism, Sovereign Power and Bio-power: Female Subjectivity in Contemporary Turkey.” Research and Policy on Turkey 1 (2): 132–46.10.1080/23760818.2016.1201244CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anzaldúa, Gloria E. 2002. Preface to This Bridge We Call Home: Radical Visions for Transformation, eds. Anzaldúa, Gloria E. and Keating, AnaLouise. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Arat, Yesim. 2004. “Rethinking the Political: A Feminist Journal in Turkey, Pazartesi.” Women's Studies International Forum 27: 282–97.Google Scholar
Arat, Yesim. 2016. “Islamist Women and Feminist Concerns in Contemporary Turkey: Prospects for Women's Rights and Solidarity.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women's Studies 37 (3): 125–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arman, Ayse. 2015. “Ilahiyetci yazar Hidayet Şefkatli Tuksal: Cocuk basina her ay 1500 Tl Versinler” [Theology scholar Hidayet Şefkatli Tuksal: Child support allowance should be 1500TL per child]. Hürriyet, January 11. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/yazarlar/ayse-arman/ilahiyatci-yazar-hidayet-sefkatli-tuksal-madem-annelik-kariyer-cocuk-basina-her-ay-1500-lira-versinler-27935311 (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Ayata, Ayse, and Dogangun, Gokten. 2017. “Gender Politics of the AKP: Restoration of a Religio-conservative Gender Climate.” Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 19 (6): 610–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bacchi, Lee Carol. 2005. “Discourse, Discourse Everywhere: Subject ‘Agency’ in Feminist Discourse Methodology.” Nordic Journal of Women Studies 13 (3): 198–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barbarosoğlu, Fatma. 2012. “Kraliçe Victoria'nın dogum sancıları” [Queen Victoria's labor pains]. Yeni Şafak, June 6. http://www.yenisafak.com/yazarlar/fatmabarbarosoglu/kralice-victorianin dogum-sancilari-32712 (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Benford, D. Robert, and Snow, David A.. 2000. “Framing Processes and Social Movements: An Overview and Assessment.” Annual Review of Sociology 26 (1): 611–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benhabib, Seyla. 1992. Situating the Self: Gender, Community and the Self in Contemporary Ethics. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Böhürler, Ayse. 2012. “Darbeleri Arastırma Komisyonu'nun basında iyi ki bir kadın var!” [Luckily, a woman sits as president of the commission to investigate the 15 July coup attempt]. Yeni Şafak, June 9. http://www.yenisafak.com/yazarlar/aysebohurler/darbeleri aratirma-komisyonununbainda-iyi-ki-bir-kadin-var-32751 (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Bora, Aksu. 2012. “Birlik ve Beraberlige en çok Muhtaç Oldugumuz şu Günlerde Kürtaj Yasağı” [The ban on abortion at a time when we need unity and solidarity most]. http://www.amargidergi.com/yeni/?p=726 (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Budgeon, Shelley. 2001. “Emergent Feminist(?) Identities: Young Women and the Practice of Micropolitics.” European Journal of Women's Studies 8 (1): 7–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Budgeon, Shelley. 2015. “Individualized Femininity and Feminist Politics of Choice.” European Journal of Women's Studies 22 (3): 303–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carastathis, Anna. 2013. “Identity Categories as Potential Coalitions.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 38 (4): 941–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cindoğlu, Dilek, and Unal, Didem. 2017. “Gender and Sexuality in the Authoritarian Discursive Strategies of New Turkey.” European Journal of Women's Studies 24 (1): 39–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, Elizabeth R. 2008. “Coalitions as a Model for Intersectionality: From Practice to Theory.” Sex Roles 59 (5–6): 443–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coşar, Simten, and Onbaşı, Funda G.. 2008. “Women's Movement in Turkey at a Crossroads: From Women's Rights Advocacy to Feminism.” South European Society and Politics 13 (3): 325–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coşar, Simten, and Yeğenoğlu, Metin. 2011. “New Grounds for Patriarchy in Turkey? Gender Policy in the Age of AKP.” South European Society and Politics 16 (4): 555–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dean, Jodi. 1997. “Feminist Solidarity, Reflective Solidarity: Theorizing Connections after Identity Politics.” Women & Politics 18 (4): 1–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diner, Cagla and Toktaş, Şule. 2010. “Waves of Feminism in Turkey: Kemalist, Islamist and Kurdish Women's Movements in an era of Globalization.” Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 12 (1): 41–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eraslan, Sibel. 2002. “Uğultular … Silüetler” [Howls and silhouettes]. In 90'larda Türkiye'de Feminizm [Feminism in 90s Turkey], eds. Bora, Aksu and Güldal, Asena. Istanbul: Iletişim, 239–77.Google Scholar
Eraslan, Sibel. 2012a. “Kürtaja Yönelten Sebeplerle Mücadele” [The struggle with factors associated with abortion]. Star, June 12. http://haber.star.com.tr/yazar/Kurtaja_yonelten_sebeplerle_mucadele/yazi-601678 (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Eraslan, Sibel. 2012b. “Üç kelimede kürtaj: Cenin, cinnet ve cennet” [Abortion in three words: Fetus, insanity, and heaven]. Star, May 31. https://www.star.com.tr/yazar/Uc_kelimede_kurtaj_Cenin_cinnet_ve_cennet-yazi-594575/ (accessed November 5, 2018).Google Scholar
Ferree, Myra Marx. 2003. “Resonance and Radicalism: Feminist Framings in the Abortion Debates of Germany and the United States.” American Journal of Sociology 109 (2): 304–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferree, Myra Marx. 2009. “Inequality, Intersectionality and Politics of Discourse: Framing Feminist Alliances.” In The Discursive Politics of Gender Equality: Stretching, Bending and Policy Making, eds. Bombardo, Emanuela et al. London: Routledge, 86–105.Google Scholar
Frank, Ana, and Çelik, Ayşe Betül. 2017. “Beyond Islamic versus Secular Framing: A Critical Analysis of Reproductive Rights Debates in Turkey.” Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 13 (2): 195–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraser, Nancy. 2016. “Progressive Neoliberalism Versus Reactionary Populism: A Choice that Feminists Should Refuse.” Nora: Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research 24 (4): 281–84.Google Scholar
Goodwin, Jeff, and Jasper, James M.. 2004. Rethinking Social Movements: Structure, Meaning, and Emotion. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Goodwin, Jeff, and Jasper, James M., eds. 2011. Contention in Context: Political Opportunities and the Emergence of Protest. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Hewitt, Lyndi. 2011. “Framing across Differences, Building Solidarities: Lessons from Women's Rights Activism in Transnational Spaces.” Interface: A Journal for and about Social Movements 3 (2): 65–99.Google Scholar
Hürriyet. 2017. “Kadikoy'de Kiyafetime Karisma Eylemi” [Protest in Kadikoy dubbed “don't mess with my outfit”]. July 29. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/kadikoyde-kiyafetime-karisma-eylemi-40534870 (accessed November 5, 2018).Google Scholar
Hürriyet Daily News. 2012. “Turkish PM Vows to Pass New Abortion Law.” May 30. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-pm-erdogan-vows-to-pass-new-abortion-law--21911.Google Scholar
Hürriyet Daily News. 2013a. “Erdoğan Declares Birth Control Treason.” December 22. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-erdogan-declares-birth-control-treason-75934 (accessed November 5, 2018)Google Scholar
Hürriyet Daily News. 2013b. “Turkish PM Reiterates His Call for Three Children.” http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkishpm-erdogan-reiterates-his-call-for-three-children.aspx?pageID=238&nid=38235 (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Ilter, Balcicek. 2016. “Feminist aktivist Berrin Sönmez Habertürk'e konuştu” [Feminist activist Berrin Sonmez spoke to Habertürk]. Habertürk, May 23. http://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/1243350-feminist-aktivist-berrin-sonmez-haberturke-konustu (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Kandiyoti, Deniz. 2016. “Locating the Politics of Gender: Patriarchy, Neo-liberal Governance and Violence in Turkey.” Research and Policy on Turkey 1 (2): 103–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karaca, Nihal Bengisu. 2012a. “Kürtaj ve sezaryen” [Abortion and c-section]. Habertürk, May 30. http://www.haberturk.com/yazarlar/nihal-bengisu-karaca/746454-kurtaj-ve-sezaryen (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Karaca, Nihal Bengisu. 2012b. “Kürtaj yasağı, kimlik ve ekonomik büyüme” [Ban on abortion, identity, and economic growth]. Habertürk, January 6. http://www.haberturk.com/yazarlar/nihal-bengisu-karaca/747074-kurtaj-yasagikimlik-ve-ekonomik-buyume (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Karaca, Nihal Bengisu. 2012c. “Dindar kadınlardan ‘Uludere'ye adalet’ çagrısı” [Pious women's call for justice in Uludere]. Habertürk, June 3. https://www.haberturk.com/yazarlar/nihal-bengisu-karaca/747644-dindar-kadinlardan-uludereye-adalet-cagrisi (accessed November 5, 2018).Google Scholar
Karaca, Nihal Bengisu. 2012d. “Dogmus bir çocugun ‘kürtaj’ sorgusu” [An infant's inquiry about abortion]. Habertürk, June 8. http://www.haberturk.com/yazarlar/nihal-bengisu-karaca/749076-dogmusbir-cocugunkurtaj-sorgusu (accessed October 29, 2018).Google Scholar
Karaca, Nihal Bengisu. 2016. “Tasari mi Berdel mi?” [Draft bill or arranged marriage?]. Habertürk, November 20. http://www.haberturk.com/yazarlar/nihal-bengisu-karaca/1326175-tasari-mi-berdel-mi (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Keating, Cricket. 2005. “Building Coalition Consicousness.” NWSA Journal 17 (2): 86–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korkman, Zeynep Kurtulus. 2015. “Blessing Neoliberalism: Economy, Family, and the Occult in Millennial Turkey.” Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association 2 (2): 335–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korkman, Zeynep Kurtulus. 2016. “Politics of Intimacy in Turkey: A Distraction from Real Politics?” Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 12 (1): 112–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kubilay, Çagla. 2014. “Islami Muhafazakâr Kadın Yazarların Perspektifinden Kürtaj Tartışması: Eleştirel bir Değerlendirme” [Abortion debate from the perspective of pious women writers: A critical evaluation]. Alternatif Politika 6 (3): 387–421.Google Scholar
Lugones, Maria. 2003. Pilgramages/Peregrinajes: Theorizing Coalition against Multiple Oppressions. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Lyshaug, Brenda. 2006. “Solidarity without ‘Sisterhood’? Feminism and the Ethics of Coalition Building.” Politics & Gender 2 (1): 77–100.Google Scholar
Misciagno, Patricia S. 1997. Rethinking Feminist Identification: The Case for De Facto Feminism. Westport, CT: Praeger.Google Scholar
Moghadam, Valentine, and Gheytanchi, Elham. 2010. “Political Opportunities and Strategic Choices: Comparing Feminist Campaigns in Morocco and Iran.” Mobilization: An International Journal 15 (3): 267–88.Google Scholar
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. 2003. Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Onar, Nora Fisher, and Paker, Hande. 2012. “Towards Cosmopolitan Citizenship? Women's Rights in Divided Turkey.” Theory and Society 41 (4): 375–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ozcetin, Hatice. 2009. “Breaking the Silence: The Religious Muslim Women's Movement in Turkey.” Journal of International Women's Studies 11 (1): 106–19.Google Scholar
Ozguler, Cevahir, and Yarar, Betul. 2017. “Neoliberal Body Politics: Feminist Resistance and the Abortion Law in Turkey.” In Bodies in Resistance: Gender and Sexual Politics in the Age of Neoliberalism, ed. Harcourt, Wendy. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 133–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ozinanir, Sultan. 2016. “Kadin Perspektifli bir Islami Yorumlama Bicimi Olarak Kadina Siddete Karsi Muslumanlar Insiyatifi” [Muslim initiative against violence against women as a form of Islamic interpretation from a woman's perspective]. Fe Dergi 8 (1): 118–30.Google Scholar
Radikal. 2012. “Erdoğan: Sezaryene karşıyım, kürtaj bir cinayettir” [Erdoğan: I am against c-section, abortion is murder]. http://www.radikal.com.tr/politika/erdogan-sezaryene-karsiyim-kurtaj-cinayettir-1089120/ (accessed November 5, 2018).Google Scholar
Ramazanoğlu, Yıldız. 2012a. “Erkeklerin kürtajı” [Men's abortion]. T24, June 13. http://t24.com.tr/haber/kurtaj-icin-siddet-uygulayan-erkeklerden-haberiniz-varmi,206235 (accessed October 29, 2018).Google Scholar
Ramazanoğlu, Yıldız. 2012b. “Uludere kırılma noktamız” [Uludere is our breaking point]. Radikal, June 3. http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/uludere_kirilma_noktamiz-1089937 (accessed October 29, 2018).Google Scholar
Saktanber, Ayse, and Çorbacioğlu, Gül. 2008. “Veiling and Headscarf-Skepticism in Turkey.” Social Politics 15 (4): 514–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scharff, Christina. 2013. Repudiating Feminism: Young Women in a Neoliberal World. London: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Sehlikoglu, Sertaç. 2015. “Intimate Publics, Public Intimacies: Natural Limits, Creation and the Culture of Mahremiyet in Turkey.” Cambridge Journal of Anthropology 33 (2): 77–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simga, Hulya, and Goker, Gulru. 2017. “Whither Feminist Alliance? Secular Feminists and Islamist Women in Turkey.” Asian Journal of Women's Studies 23 (3): 273–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Şişman, Nazife. 2006. Emanetten Mülke: Kadın-Beden-Siyaset [From entrustment to property: Woman-body-politics]. Istanbul: Iz Yayıncılık.Google Scholar
Sonmez, Berrin. 2016. “TBMM'de Geceyarisi Tecavuz Baskini” [A midnight rape attack at the Turkish Parliament]. Gazeteduvar, November 19. https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/yazarlar/2016/11/19/tbmmde-gece-yarisi-tecavuzbaskini/ (accessed October 29, 2018).Google Scholar
Sutton, Barbara, and Borland, Elizabeth. 2013. “Framing Abortion Rights in Argentina's Encuentros Nacionales de Mujeres.” Feminist Studies 39 (1): 194–234.Google Scholar
Taraf. 2012. “Allah cenini kadına emanet etti” [God entrusted the fetus to women]. June 5.Google Scholar
Tuksal, Hidayet Şefkatli. 2012a. “Her çocuk için maaş verin, sonra üç çocuk isteyin” [First provide child support, then ask for three children]. Aksam, June 6. http://www.aksam.com.tr/guncel/her-cocuk-icin-maas-verin,-sonra-ucisteyin--119841h/haber-119841 (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Tuksal, Hidayet Şefkatli. 2012b. “Uludere'de kurtaj yok, çocuk cesetleri var” [Uludere is not about abortion, it is about children's dead bodies]. Radikal, June 6. http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/uluderede_kurtaj_yok_cocuk_cesetleri_var-1090283 (accessed October 28, 2018).Google Scholar
Unal, Didem. 2015. “Vulnerable Identities: Pious Women Columnists’ Narratives on Islamic Feminism and Feminist Self-İdentification in Contemporary Turkey.” Women's Studies International Forum 53: 12–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Unal, Didem, and Cindoğlu, Dilek. 2013. “Reproductive Citizenship in Turkey: Abortion Chronicles.” Women's Studies International Forum 38: 21–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verloo, Mieke. 2013. “Intersectional and Cross-movement Politics and Policies: Reflections on Current Practices and Debates.” Signs 38 (4): 893–915.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weir, Allison. 2008. “Global Feminism and Transformative Identity Politics.” Hypatia 23 (4): 110–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whittier, Nancy. 2014. “Rethinking Coalitions: Anti-pornography feminists, Conservatives and Relationships between Collaborative Adversarial Movements.” Social Problems 61 (2): 175–93.Google Scholar
Whittier, Nancy. 2018. Frenemies: Feminists, Conservatives and Sexual Violence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yazıcı, Berna. 2012. “The Return to the Family: Welfare, State and Politics of the Family in Turkey.” Anthropological Quarterly 85 (1): 103–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar