Table Of ContentWomen in Turkey
This book provides a socio-e conomic examination of the status of women in
contemporary Turkey, assessing how policies have combined elements of neo-
liberalism and Islamic conservatism.
Using rich qualitative and quantitative analyses, Women in Turkey analyses
the policies concerning women in the areas of employment, education and health
and the fundamental transformation of the construction of gender since the early
2000s. Comparing this with the situation pre- 2000, the authors argue that the
reconstruction of gender is part of the reshaping of the state–society relations,
the state–business relationship, and the cultural changes that have taken place
across the country over the last two decades. Thus, the book situates the Turkish
case within the broader context of international development of neoliberalism
while paying close attention to its idiosyncrasies.
Adopting a political economy perspective emphasizing the material sources
of gender relations, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Middle
Eastern politics, political Islam and Gender Studies.
Gamze Çavdar teaches Comparative Politics and Middle East Politics in the
Department of Political Science at Colorado State University, USA. Her research
interests include Islamist movements, gender, social policy and the politics
of food.
Yavuz Yaşar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the
University of Denver. His research interests include health economics, social
policy, development, macroeconomics and political economy.
Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics
89 Party Politics in Turkey
Edited by Sabri Sayari, Pelin Ayan Musil and Özhan Demirkol
90 The Religionization of Israeli Society
Yoav Peled and Horit Herman Peled
91 Participation Culture in the Gulf
Networks, Politics and Identity
Edited by Nele Lenze and Charlotte Schriwer
92 Patterns of Nationhood and Saving the State in Turkey
Ottomanism, Nationalism and Multiculturalism
Serhun Al
93 Power Sharing in Lebanon
Consociationalism Since 1820
Eduardo Wassim Aboultaif
94 Israel in a Turbulent Region
Security and Foreign Policy
Edited by Tore T. Petersen
95 Women in Turkey
Silent Consensus in the Age of Neoliberalism and Islamic Conservatism
Gamze Çavdar and Yavuz Yaşar
96 The Decline of Democracy in Turkey
A Comparative Study of Hegemonic Party Rule
Kürşat Çınar
For a full list of titles in the series: www.routledge.com/middleeaststudies/series/
SE0823
Women in Turkey
Silent Consensus in the Age of
Neoliberalism and Islamic Conservatism
Gamze Çavdar and Yavuz Yaşar
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Gamze Çavdar and Yavuz Yaşar
The right of Gamze Çavdar and Yavuz Yaşar to be identified as authors of
this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-i n-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-i n-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-1-138-54232-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-00912-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne & Wear
For ADA
Contents
List of figures viii
List of tables ix
Acknowledgments x
List of abbreviations xii
Introduction 1
1 Theoretical framework 8
2 Competing visions of gender 47
3 Employment 75
4 Education 114
5 Health 146
6 Looking global, looking ahead 181
Index 192
Figures
3.1 Official versus broad unemployment rates (2000–2016) 84
3.2 Types of unemployment as a percentage of broad
unemployment by gender (2003–2016) 85
3.3 Part- time employment as a percentage of official employment
by gender (2003–2016) 89
4.1 Total number of İmam Hatip schools (1923–2017) 126
4.2 Total number of students in İmam Hatip (Middle and High)
schools (1923–2017) 126
4.3 Index of number of students: Secular versus İmam Hatip
(Middle and High) schools (1923–2017) 127
4.4 Number of female and male students in İmam Hatip schools
(2002–2017) 128
4.5 Percentage of pay-f ree staying students at boarding schools
(2006–2017): Total versus İmam Hatip 130
4.6 Private schools (2006–2017) 135
4.7 Out- of-pocket expenditures for education as a percentage of
household income without any transfers by income
distribution (2004–2012) 136
5.1 Total fertility rates (per 1000 women) (1924–2013) 149
5.2 Distribution of out-o f-pocket medical care expenditure as a
percentage of household income including social and welfare
transfers by income quintiles (2003–2013) 155
5.3 Distribution of out-o f-pocket medical care expenditure as a
percentage of household income without social and welfare
transfers by income quintiles (2003–2013) 156
5.4 Contraception methods by women (1988–2013) 159
5.5 Desired versus actual total fertility rates (1998–2013) 162
5.6 Femicide in Turkey (2008–2017) 168
Tables
3.1 Basic indicators of employment for men and women
(1990–2000) 80
3.2 Basic indicators of employment for men and women
(2005–2015) 82
3.3 Decomposition of employment and unemployment
(2003–2016) 83
3.4 Laws and regulations concerning women’s employment
(2003–2017) 86
3.5 Attendees of select İŞKUR courses and employment
(2009–2014) 96
4.1 Laws and policies concerning women’s education
(2002–2017) 121
4.2 Annual growth rates of various education indicators in
8- and 12-year mandatory education systems (1997–2018) 123
4.3 Annual growth rates of number of students by grades and
gender (1999–2018) 125
5.1 Selected laws and regulations concerning health (2002–2018) 152
