Strategic Struggles for Power in the Domestic Sphere: Gender Ideologies and Relations in Turkey

Abstract

Turkey is a predominantly patriarchal society where the social organization is heavily based on the family unit, which is an effective means of reproducing the patriarchal structure of society. In this regard, family and marriage are important sources of identity, security, and economic support for women. This paper analyzes gender roles and relations in Turkey from the perspective women who are defined as "gecekondu" (squatter settlement) women. The main argument is that the confinement of women to their roles as mothers and wives in the domestic sphere is reflected in the ways in which women gain power in both the private and public spheres in the low-income communities of urban Turkey. Thus, only through the manipulation of these relations are women able to negotiate effectively with their husbands, fathers, and other members of their families and communities. Marriage is also a strong institution in which women and men are expected to perform certain kinds of duties and roles with respect to each other and to society. Women usually are expected to play a major role in the marriage arrangements and the eagerness of women for marriage can manifest itself in Kandiyoti's argument of women's conservative choices against the uncertainties of the future (Kandiyoti, 1988). Marriage is an area where women step out of childhood and gain access to the limited power of womanhood. Thus, marriage and motherhood are sites in which women's patriarchal bargaining constantly occurs on a conscious level. Although it may be argued that women end up internalizing the classical patriarchal system, the argument in this paper is that women consciously alter the existing roles and relations by utilizing these roles to protect themselves against insecurities and also to gain status and power. By following the same argument line, it is suggested that the emancipation of women needs to be perceived as a process rather than an ultimate destination.