Eroding Freedoms: Democratic Backsliding and Its Impact on Women’s Empowerment in Turkey

This study investigates the gendered consequences of democratic backsliding in Türkiye, with a particular focus on its impact on women’s empowerment, civil liberties, and political voice. Drawing on a nationwide survey of 537 women, the research employs a cross-sectional quantitative design to examine how perceptions of democratic erosion intersect with gendered experiences of empowerment. Two indices were developed to measure women’s perceptions: the Empowerment Index and the Democratic Backsliding Index, both demonstrating strong internal reliability. Regression analyses reveal a clear and statistically significant negative association between the two: as women perceive greater democratic decline, their sense of political agency, freedom of expression, and institutional protection of rights diminishes.The findings further highlight that these perceptions are not uniform across the population. Political orientation emerges as the strongest predictor: women identifying as liberal, progressive, or politically unaffiliated report significantly lower empowerment, while more religious women tend to perceive themselves as more empowered within the current regime. Regional patterns also matter, with lower perceptions of backsliding observed in areas historically aligned with the ruling party. These results underscore the deeply gendered nature of authoritarian resilience, where political worldview, religiosity, and geographic context shape how women interpret and experience democratic change.