To branch or not to branch? women and political parties in turkey

This essay discusses the impact of the women’s branches in political parties on the role of women in Turkish politics, specifically in the secular Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi-RPP) and the now-defunct Islamist Virtue Party (Fazilet Partisi-VP). The study examines the advantages and disadvantages of organizing women separately from men. The comparison demonstrates that the women’s branches fall short of being an effective way of challenging men’s domination in politics because they reinforce the traditional gender division of labor, lack institutional autonomy, and remain outside the decision-making process of the central party organizations. It argues that the secularist-Islamist confrontation encourages women and men to take a unified-party position vis-à-vis their contenders and hinders women’s struggle for intra-party equity.

Women’s Political Participation ,

Politics And Women ,

Women’s Branches ,

Islamist Parties And Women ,

RPP And Women ,