New strategies of women’s movements in the face of rising anti-gender politics in Turkey: Transnational and intersectional ties, frames, and organizational structures

Feminist activism in the face of the upsurge of anti-gender politics faces new challenges in terms of rethinking of collective resilience, forming new alliances, and engaging in sustainable modes of resistance. Illiberal political actors’ anti-gender politics in contemporary Turkey have altered the relations between women’s movements and the state, and redefined the context in which women activists can engage in rights-advocacy. On the other hand, reactionary civil society actors and their anti-gender agendas have also negatively impacted women’s movement’s capacities and strategies in the recent era, imposing threats on women’s rights activists and curtailing their capacity and space to act. Drawing on diverse sets of qualitative data including in-depth interviews and social media data, this paper examines how feminist movements and activists reconfigure activism in the face of challenges and threats associated with the growing visibility, power and efficacy of anti-gender actors and mobilizations. It investigates how “anti-gender times” in Turkey have catalyzed new strategies, frames and coalitions of resistance, and resulted in powerful forms collective resilience. It also foregrounds attention to the central role of emotions in feminist activism, solidarity and consciousness raising and discuss their effects on how feminists contest polarization, post-truth epistemologies and hate speech underpinning anti-gender politics.