Women in Turkey: Silent Consensus in the Age of Neoliberalism and Islamic Conservatism (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics)

This book provides a socio-economic examination of the status of women in contemporary Turkey, assessing how policies have combined elements of neoliberalism and Islamic conservatism. Using rich qualitative and quantitative analyses, Women in Turkey analyses the policies concerning women in the areas of employment, education and health and the fundamental transformation of the construction of gender since the early 2000s. Comparing this with the situation pre-2000, the authors argue that the reconstruction of gender is part of the reshaping of the state–society relations, the state–business relationship, and the cultural changes that have taken place across the country over the last two decades. Thus, the book situates the Turkish case within the broader context of international development of neoliberalism while paying close attention to its idiosyncrasies. Adopting a political economy perspective emphasizing the material sources of gender relations, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Middle Eastern politics, political Islam and Gender Studies. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 List of figures 9 List of tables 10 Acknowledgments 11 List of abbreviations 13 Introduction 16 A note on data 19 Outline of the book and the chapters 20 Note 22 References 22 1 Theoretical framework 23 Limits of exclusive focus on identity politics 27 Critical political economy: An alternative approach 33 Neoliberalism and neoconservatism 35 Theoretical roots of neoliberalism and gender 39 Contemporary neoliberalism and the gender predicament 45 Neoliberalism in Turkey 48 AKP’s Islamic conservatism and gender 49 Data and method 53 Notes 54 References 54 2 Competing visions of gender 62 Secular patriarchy 63 Islamism and Islamic conservatism 66 The rise of Islamism in Turkey 68 Re-envisioning women under AKP rule 73 Conclusion 84 References 85 3 Employment 90 Women’s employment from a historical perspective: 1920s–1970s 91 Early neoliberalism and the rise of private enterprise: 1980s–1990s 93 Pillars of the AKP government’s policies for female employment: 2002–present 105 Conclusion 121 Notes 123 References 124 Periodicals 128 4 Education 129 Principles of education 130 Characteristics of the education system under the AKP: An overview 149 Conclusion 156 Notes 157 References 158 5 Health 161 Healthcare during the early Republican years (1920s–1950s) 163 Growing population and the health challenges: 1960–1970s 164 Beginning of the neoliberal era: 1980s and 1990s 165 Characteristics of health policies under the AKP (2002–2018) 166 Conclusion 189 References 190 6 Looking global, looking ahead 196 Looking ahead 204 References 205 Index 207 Winner of the 2021 Suraj Mal and Shyama Devi Agarwal Book PrizeThis book provides a socio-economic examination of the status of women in contemporary Turkey, assessing how policies have combined elements of neoliberalism and Islamic conservatism.Using rich qualitative and quantitative analyses, Women in Turkey analyses the policies concerning women in the areas of employment, education and health and the fundamental transformation of the construction of gender since the early 2000s. Comparing this with the situation pre-2000, the authors argue that the reconstruction of gender is part of the reshaping of the state–society relations, the state–business relationship, and the cultural changes that have taken place across the country over the last two decades. Thus, the book situates the Turkish case within the broader context of international development of neoliberalism while paying close attention to its idiosyncrasies.Adopting a political economy perspective emphasizing the material sources of gender relations, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Middle Eastern politics, political Islam and Gender Studies. This book provides a socio-economic examination of the status of women in contemporary Turkey, assessing how policies have combined elements of neoliberalism and Islamic conservatism. Using rich qualitative and quantitative analyses, Women in Turkey analyses the policies concerning women in the areas of employment, education and health and the fundamental transformation of the construction of gender since the early 2000s. Comparing this with the situation pre-2000, the authors argue that the reconstruction of gender is part of the reshaping of the state-society relations, the state-business relationship, and the cultural changes which have taken place across the country over the last two decades. Thus, the book situates the Turkish case within the broader context of international development of neoliberalism while paying close attention to its idiosyncrasies. Adopting a political economy perspective emphasizing the material sources of gender relations, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Middle Eastern politics, political Islam and Gender Studies