The 'promotion of civil society' has been stated as one of the primary aims of international organizations in developing countries since the 1990s. The European Union (EU) is one of these international organizations, aiming to enhance civil society and democracy. Since 2006, a substantial programme of EU support has been allocated to Turkey for the progression of EU-Civil Society Dialogue with the specific aim of encouraging civil society engagement in the proposed accession of Turkey to EU membership. In this context, “gender equality” has come to the fore and the EU funding has been provided to women’s NGOs in Turkey in order to develop civil society. This has contributed to a shift in women's NGOs focus to projects enhancing 'civil society' and promoting 'gender equality' in Turkey. In this paper, I will question whether the EU civil society funding, has a power to change the political agenda and aims/priorities of the women's NGOs in Turkey. In other words, I would like to analyze how these funds change the activism of the women's groups in Turkey. This paper firstly will give an overview of the distinctive features of women's movement in Turkey and highlight how it has been shaped by the tensions between secular and Islamist politics. Secondly, I will discuss the EU accession process and EU funding in Turkey from a gender perspective and critically analyse whether the EU civil society funding provided to women's NGOs in Turkey has a power to cope with the gender-based inequalities in the society. Finally, I will explore the impacts of these funds on the women's NGO's activism in Turkey by giving current examples of their practices.
