Gender Equality in Turkey: Limited Diffusion of European Norms

Turkey constitutes a ‘sui generis’ example of a country which has a predominantly Muslim population, yet extensive women’s rights at least in principle. To the outsider, the co-existence of well-educated, professional women along with forced marriages, honor killings present itself as an anomaly. The modernization process in Turkey since 1923 created a society where gender based discrimination remained rampant but also hidden within thinly veiled layers. Yet, the principle of gender equality is part and parcel of the “EU-niversal” canon which aspirants for membership to the EU must adopt. However, in recent years pro-religious cohorts have sought to reconfigure Turkey’s engagement of modernity, including extant readings of women’s rights. The most visible manifestation of Islamic tendencies in Turkey is over the role of women in public life. The underlying question that seems at the core of the women question as part of the larger democratic puzzle in Turkey is the degree to which women’s presence in the public realm is tolerated. The main dilemma on gender equality in Turkey stems from the gap between the legal basis and the social acceptance of the legal rights and their implementation. Even though there are significant legal rights that women possess in Turkey, the practice of these rights are largely constrained by the societal practices. The Turkish adaptation to the European Union rules and norms as part and parcel of its accession process- albeit effectively frozen- highlighted some key challenges with regards to gender equality. The paper focuses on the violence against women, women's legal rights under the Civic and Penal codes and the discourses within the Turkish society around these topics to illustrate the transformation in Turkey with regards to gender equality.