Women in Contemporary Turkey-Adiyamanli.org

Women in Contemporary Turkey

Click here to see statistics concerning Turkish Women

Click here to see traditional Women Clothes

In the nineteenth century the Ottoman government began to adopt the ways of the West. Ottoman reformers realized that if the Ottoman Empire kept its traditional system the Empire would eventually be defeated and swallowed up by the Europeans. At first, the Ottomans tried to copy only European technology and technical education. They were interested in building their economy and national strength, not in becoming like the Europeans. It soon became evident that technology alone was not enough. European strength was based on more than the presence of factories. European factories depended on European colleges for ideas. The colleges depended on the secondary and elementary schools. An economically developed nation had to be literate and dedicated to scientific knowledge. Therefore, the Ottomans began to build schools like the European schools, even sending students to Europe to study. Students in the upper schools were taught European languages.

However, European-style education was not enough. The economy improved, but the Empire still lagged far behind Europe. The relative weakness of the Ottomans ultimately meant that the Empire was defeated and dismembered in World War I. Before the war, Turkish reformers had begun to believe that the real basis of European economic superiority lay in European culture. What was needed was a whole nation dedicated to new ways, not just an educated elite that understood European technology. The reformers began to suggest political and social reform, the beginning of the path to democracy. The disaster of World War I convinced the Turks that such changes had to be made.

Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Turks began a policy of radical Westernization and modernization. Atatürk was a war hero whose leadership had saved Turkish independence and who had become president of the new Turkish Republic. Now he used his prestige to effect change. Schools were built all over the Republic. They taught a modified European curriculum. Laws of countries such as Italy and Switzerland were substituted for the Ottoman laws. "People's Houses" were set up to teach adults to read and to understand new ways. Atatürk's government even changed the clothes Turks wore, discouraging the veil for women and outlawing traditional headgear for men. Most important, a start was made on transforming the political culture of the Turks. People's Houses and schools taught the principle of equality of all citizens in place of the idea that a ruling class deserved to rule. While he lived, Atatürk kept power firmly in his own hands, but he planned and prepared for democracy.

Like all such changes, Atatürk's reforms sometimes went slowly. Many times they were frustrated by the natural human desire to keep what is familiar and avoid change. Nevertheless, the reforms bore fruit. After World War II the Turkish Republic became a true democracy, with different parties contesting elections. Economic reform went more slowly, but in the 1950s and 1960s Turkey began to advance rapidly in that area, as well. Neither politics nor the economy always went smoothly. The army intervened when officers believed that politicians were deviating from Atatürk's path of reform. In the 1970s, civil unrest between leftists and rightists and high inflation caused a stagnant economy. The 1980s saw a major change, however, and Turkey had the highest rate of economic growth of any country in the Middle East, North Africa, or Central Asia, despite the fact that it had little oil.

Perhaps the best example of the changes in Turkish society is the status of women. Women's participation in society, politics, and the economy is a key indicator of success in development. Women's freedom is also one of the most difficult aims to achieve. The place of women in Middle Eastern societies had developed long before the Turks arrived from Central Asia. It was based on the need to protect women and children in dangerous times. The survival of the family depended on the tradition of men going off to war (and its corollary, politics) and women maintaining the family. It was a system that worked, but it was attuned neither to the needs of a modern society nor to the equality that is a necessary part of democracy.

From an early date the ideology of the Turkish Republic was committed to equality. Overcoming social and religious obstacles, polygamy was abolished in 1925. Laws were amended to offer women equal rights of divorce and inheritance, which they had not held under Islamic Law. Women voted in municipal elections in 1934. In the latter year women were also elected as deputies in the Parliament. The scope of this achievement is indicated by the fact that in the United States the 19th amendment recognizing women's right to vote was only ratified in 1920. Since 1934 women in Turkey have been politicians and members of Parliament and cabinet members since 1971.

On the law books, women in Turkey have been equal for more than half a century. However, reality has not always matched the law. Turkey is not the only country to find women's equality a difficult goal to attain. Tradition dies hard, especially in the rural areas of Turkey, where women usually fill more traditional roles. In the work world, women have done best in professions, as is the case in Europe and the United States. They are commonly physicians and university professors. On the other hand, in commerce and industry women find it easier to enter the work force than to rise to the top. In the home, the majority of house work is still done by wives and daughters. Yet a great number of educated women actively oppose this situation. In general, improvements in the Turkish economy have been matched by improvements in the status of women.

All of this has left great variance among women's lives in modern Turkey. The life of a typical village woman is different than that of middle class woman in the cities. The daughters of many urban families dress in clothes that might be seen in Paris, Rome, or London. Some families have followed an Islamic revival (most have not) and women in these families are relatively secluded. Economic need has forced women to work outside the home when they and their spouses would rather they did not. Some politically active women call for a return to traditional values. Although Turkish society is generally more conservative than Western European or American society, descriptions of women's position and women's problems are remarkably similar.

Return to Who Are the Turks?

Women in Contemporary Turkey (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Women in Contemporary Turkey