The Sbey Research Center hosted a thought provoking international webinar focused on the political participation of women in the Republic of Turkey. Featuring a panel of distinguished international academic scholars, the webinar explored the historical background of women's roles in Turkish politics and examined the evolving dynamics of their participation over time. The discussion began with an overview of women and electoral politics in Türkiye, analyzing how women have maneuvered within a secular system shaped by patriarchal structures. Particular attention was given to the AKP era, as speakers explored how the conservative ruling party has approached women’s political inclusion within a system rooted in secular traditions.
One of the central themes of the webinar was the paradox of representation under the AKP government. While the party currently includes 51 female members in parliament, only one woman serves in the cabinet: Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, the Minister of Family and Social Services. The panel examined the reasoning behind this imbalance and discussed how it reflects broader trends in gender politics in Türkiye. Questions were raised about whether these appointments represent symbolic inclusion or substantive political empowerment. The session also unpacked the broader societal and structural challenges facing women in Turkish politics, including limited access to decision making roles and the gendered nature of political responsibilities.
The webinar covered a range of themes including: Women and Electoral Politics in Türkiye: Maneuvering Patriarchal Structures; Women in Turkey: Family, Labor, and Education; and a Chronological Analysis of Women's Political Evolution, with a particular focus on the AKP era. It provided valuable historical context by linking past reforms and initiatives with present realities. The discussion also examined how different political parties, particularly the AKP and the pro Kurdish DEM Party have addressed the issue of women's representation. It explored the internal factors that have shaped women's political engagement and analyzed why, despite reported progress, significant disparities still remain in terms of access to power and influence within Turkey’s political system.
On May 19, 2025, the Turkish Studies Unit of Sbey Research Center hosted an insightful international webinar titled; The Role of Women in the Political Process in the Republic of Turkey During the AKP Era. The discussion delved into the complexity and limitations of women’s roles in political leadership, the structural barriers preventing women from advancing to real power, the lack of sustained unity among women across political lines.
The webinar also addressed misconceptions about women’s agency in the Middle East, noting that Western perspectives often mistake limited public visibility for a lack of agency, overlooking women’s significant influence within private and family spheres. It examined structural obstacles within Turkish politics, where women including those in the AKP face systemic challenges in accessing positions of power. The Kurdish women’s movement was highlighted as a positive example, particularly its model of joint male and female leadership, which could inspire broader political reform in Turkey.
The webinar also highlighted ongoing issues such as gender stereotyping and marginalization, where women are often confined to “women’s issues,” limiting their broader political impact. It explored the conservative view of feminism in Turkey, which largely remains within first wave ideals and does not fully embrace transformative equality. Additionally, the webinar emphasized the gap between women’s influential roles as voters and their limited presence as decision makers and policymakers.
The main themes of the webinar include;
The key note speakers include;
Moderated by: Ahang Habib Hawrami, researcher at the Turkish Studies Unit of Sbey Research.
The webinar delivered a dynamic, multidisciplinary exchange that shed fresh light on the evolving discourse around women’s political participation in Turkey. It challenged surface-level narratives, asking bold questions: Do the women in positions of power truly hold the reins of change or are they simply filling? What is the lived reality for women in Turkey today? How has the AKP shaped or constrained their political empowerment? And ultimately, what does the data reveal beyond the headlines?
Women Maneuvering Patriarchy in Turkish Politics
The webinar begun with Mona Tajali`s presentation titled Women and Electoral Politics in Türkiye: Maneuvering Patriarchal Structures by emphasizing her decade-long comparative research between Iran and Turkey. She focused on women's bottom-up political organizing and how they have pushed for agency within historically patriarchal and undemocratic structures. Tajali highlighted that “women across the region, particularly within the context of Turkey, have been increasingly demanding greater political rights and representation,” while also developing strategies to “maneuver the patriarchal structures.” She noted that her work centers on both descriptive representation women’s numerical presence in politics and substantive representation, whether women act on behalf of other women’s interests.
Tajali explained that the Justice and Development Party (AKP), despite its conservative ideology, paradoxically offered more opportunities for women’s political participation than some secular parties. “It was a puzzle,” she said, that a pro religious party facilitated more visible female representation than its secular counterparts. She attributed this to several factors: the competitive multiparty system, the rise of women’s branches in political parties, and early support from the EU integration process. She also discussed the three main actors influencing women's political inclusion; political elites, feminist and women's rights groups, and the electorate stressing that “these relationships are co - constitutive,” and that electoral pressure can influence party responsiveness to women’s demands. Tajali pointed out how political leaders, like Erdoğan, “recognized the power of women in voter recruitment,” using women's branches effectively within party structures.
Despite progress, Tajali underlined enduring challenges. Male-dominated political institutions, conservative gender ideologies, and intra-movement ideological cleavages, particularly between secular and religious women, have weakened unified feminist advocacy. She noted that although Turkey was the first country in the region to grant women political rights in 1934, women's parliamentary representation remained below the global average, currently around 20%.
Conservative Women and the Boundaries of Feminism in Turkey
Dr. Meryem İlayda Atlas began by reflecting on her professional journey as a journalist and academic, emphasizing the gender disparities in media leadership: “Media is a very masculine area when it comes to managerial and decision-making positions.”, she described the industry as being dominated by men and steeped in patriarchal norms. “When I go to Ankara, it’s just like I forget that I’m a woman because they are making me to act like a male.” She also highlighted the systemic wage gaps and the exclusion of women from high-risk or powerful positions.
Turning to feminism in Turkey, Dr. Atlas critiqued the dominant ideological frameworks that define who qualifies as a feminist. “When you are conservative, you are traditionally not accepted as a feminist.” Despite her long-standing activism and her doctoral research on Turkish feminist movements, she feels alienated from mainstream feminist discourse. “Feminist ideolog is rooted in leftist ideology,” she said. Western feminist frameworks often fail to capture the lived realities of conservative Turkish women, who make up a significant majority of the population. “You are just creating an elite ideology, very much shaped by Western universal values,” which, she argued, do not always align with local contexts.
Bridging Divides for a Unified Women’s Movement in Turkey
In her remarks, Prof. Fatma Müge Göçek provided a sociological lens on women’s participation in the public sphere, tracing its roots to the Ottoman Empire and the influence of Western European modernity
Concluding with contemporary dynamics, Göçek discussed how AKP era appointments shifted the perception of women’s roles in public service, favoring loyalty and personal connections over merit. She recounted how her call for solidarity between secular and conservative women was met with backlash: “Unless secular women take ownership of the problems of conservative women, or vice versa, we will not be able to have a united women's movement.” Finally, she stressed the need to bridge the deep divides, religious and ethnic, especially between Turkish and Kurdish women. She praised the HDP's gender parity approach and joint leadership model, asserting that “women could play a very significant role, if they can collect and unite across these divides.”
The webinar featured a round of questions from the moderator, primarily focused on the theme of gender and power. During the Q&A session, participants engaged in a rich discussion about the idea that true women’s empowerment in politics goes beyond quotas or symbolic gestures, requiring deep structural and cultural transformation. Key questions included whether political parties in Turkey and the Kurdistan Region are using women’s participation merely as a symbolic tool to project a democratic and modern image, rather than genuinely empowering women with independent voices. The discussion also explored whether unity between feminist and conservative women could enhance political influence, and is improving education alone is sufficient to boost women’s political participation in contexts like Turkey and the Kurdistan Region.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the webinar offered a compelling examination of women’s political participation in Turkey, particularly during the AKP era. By bringing together diverse scholarly perspectives, it revealed the complexities behind symbolic representation, structural barriers, and ideological divides. The discussion underscored that genuine empowerment requires more than increased numbers, it demands inclusive solidarity, systemic reform, and a reimagining of political culture that embraces all women’s voices across social, religious, and ethnic lines.
