Socialist women's organizations inTurkey 1975-1980

Abstract

In this study, socialist women’s organizations established between the years 1975-80 in Turkey are explored. The Turkish left, which had not welcomed the idea of separate women’s organization, started to establish women’s associations by 1975. The Progressive Women’s Association ( KD) constitutes the first example in this respect, which was established by the leadership of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP). In the framework of this study, the Democratic Women’s Association (DKB), the women’s association of the Socialist Worker’s Party of Turkey (TS P), and the Women’s Section established under the Worker’s Party of Turkey (T P) are also discussed. From a broader perspective, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the approach of the Turkish left towards women and the women’s question from 1975– 1980 through an analysis of socialist women’s organizations. The solutions that these three parties proposed for “women’s emancipation,” the policies that were developed, and the principles that were put into practice allegedly in the name of or for women are also within the scope of this study. In order to evaluate the period in a wider context, the development of the European women’s movement, particularly in England and Germany, is examined closely. Tracing back the legacy of the socialist women’s organization of the 1970s in Turkey and exploring whether or not it was transferred to the feminist movement of the post-1980 era revealed that it was mostly the “former leftist” women of the 1970s who paved the way for and shaped the feminist movement of the post-1980 era.