Reading the Middle East through the Lens of Women’s Press in Turkey: The Case of Women’s Voice Monthly (1975-1980)

Çelik, Faika; Saritunali, Aliye Gamze

doi:10.52541/isiri.v61i4.2580

Research Article (Vol. 61(4)) 2022

Reading the Middle East through the Lens of Women’s Press in Turkey

The Case of Women’s Voice Monthly (1975-1980)

Islamic Studies

1 Cited by 46 References Full access

Abstract

The Progressive Women’s Association (PWA), founded in 1975 under the auspices of the Turkish Communist Party (TCP) when second-wave feminism was on the rise in Europe, emerged as the largest and most significant women’s organization in Turkey’s recent history. However, the organization did not position itself within the feminist paradigm. Instead, it worked for women’s causes without a feminist lineage. Thus, one of the principal questions of this study is how and to what extent the women’s movement in Europe, particularly second-wave feminism, was reflected by the women who founded the PWA and mobilized thousands of women during its five-year existence before it was shut down following the military coup in 1980. By relying on the journal Kadınların Sesi (Women’s Voice) published by the PWA, this study attempts to analyze how and to what extent women of the PWA followed and interpreted Middle East politics and specifically the condition of women in the Middle East. Previous studies on the PWA and its role in the history of the Turkish women’s movement have focused on locating the PWA within the socio-political context of modern Turkish history in general, and Turkish women’s history in particular. This study departs from the existing literature and unpacks how these women reflected upon the world in which they lived by focusing on what they wrote about the Middle East and women in the region.

Keywords: Turkey; women; press; Progressive Women's Association; feminism

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Reading the Middle East through the Lens of Women’s Press in Turkey

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The Case of Women’s Voice Monthly (1975-1980)

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Islamic Studies

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31 Dec 2022

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Islamic Studies

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Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad

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0578-8072

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2710-5326

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61 (4)

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385-406

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References 46

“24 Ocak Emperyalizme ve Siyonizm’e Karşı Arap Halklarıyla Dayanışma Günü [January 24 is the Day of Solidarity with the Arab Peoples Against Imperialism and Zionism].” Kadınların Sesi no. 42 (1979).
“Abone Kampanyamıza Katıl [Join Our Subscriber Campaign].” Kadınların Sesi, no. 23 (1977).
“Abone Kampanyasını Yaygınlaştır! Abone Kampanyasına Katıl! [Expand the Subscriber Campaign! Join the Subscriber Campaign!].” Kadınların Sesi, no. 40 (1978).
“Afganistan Demokratik Kadınlar Birliği [The Democratic Women’s Union of Afghanistan].” Kadınların Sesi no. 43 (1979).
“Emperyalizmin Yeni Savaş Alanı: Lübnan [Lebanon: Imperialism’s New Battleground].” Kadınların Sesi no. 14 (1976).
“Filistin Kurtuluş Örgütü Türkiye’de Büro Açtı [Palestine Liberation Organization Opens Office in Turkey].” Kadınların Sesi no. 52 (1979).
“İlerici Kadinlar Derneği Kuruldu [The Progressive Women’s Association Established].” Kadınların Sesi, 1 (1975).
“İran’da Devrim Utkuya Ulaştı [Iran’s Revolution Has Achieved Victory].” Kadınların Sesi no. 44 (1979).
“İran’da İlerici Kadınlar Mücadelelerini Sürdürüyor [Progressive Women in Iran Continue Their Struggle].” Kadınların Sesi no. 11 (1976).
“İran’da Milyonlar Tek Yumruk; Şah Gitsin Demokrasi Gelsin [Millions Are One Fist in Iran: Let the Shah Go, Let Democracy Come].” Kadınların Sesi no. 42 (1979).
“İranlı Bacılarımıza Bin Selam [Thousands of Salutations to Our Iranian Sisters].” Kadınların Sesi no 44 (1979).
“Kadınlar Hakkında Yanlış Görüşler [Misconceptions About Women].” Kadınların Sesi, no. 1 (1975).
“Komşumuz Irak’ta Kadınlar Toplumsal Kurtuluş Savaşımında Erkeğiyle Omuz Omuza [Women in Our Neighbour Iraq Struggle for Social Liberation Shoulder to Shoulder with Their Men].” Kadınların Sesi no. 22 (1977).
“Ortadoğu’da Terör [Terror in the Middle East].” Kadınların Sesi no. 14 (1978).
“Yardım Kampanyası [Aid Campaign].” Kadınların Sesi no. 6 (1976).
Abrahamian, Ervand. Iran between Two Revolutions. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1982.
Adak, Sevgi. “Yetmisli Yıllarda Kadın Hareketi: Yeni Bir Feminizmin Ayak Sesleri.” In Türkiye’nin Yetmişli Yılları, edited by Mete Kaan Kaynar, 609-29. Istanbul: İletisim Yayınları, 2020.
Ahmad, Feroz. The Making of Modern Turkey. London: Routledge, 1993.
Akal, Emel. Kızıl Feministler: Bir sözlü tarih çalışması. Istanbul: Türkiye Sosyal Tarih Araştırma Vakfı, 2003.
Akkaya, Özlem. “1970’lerin İkinci Yarısında Türkiye’de Sosyalizm ve Kadın: Kadınların Sesi Dergisi Karikatürleri.” Egemia 3 (2018): 66-112.
Akkaya, Özlem. “1970’lerin İkinci Yarısında Türkiye’de Sosyalizm ve Kadın: Kadınların Sesi Dergisi Karikatürleri.” Egemia, 3 (2018).
Alper, Emin. “Student Movement in Turkey from a Global Perspective, 1960–1971.” PhD diss., Boğaçizi University, 2009.
Anonymous, Petrol-İş Yıllığı. Ankara: Petrol-İş, 1988.
Arcayürek, Cüneyd. Demokrasinin Sonbaharı 1977-1978. Ankara: Bilgi Yayınevi, 1985.
Arıkan, Saadet, and İlerici Kadınlar Derneği, Ve Hep Birlikte Koştuk. İstanbul: Açı Yayıncılık, 1996.
Aytürk, İlker and Tanil Bora. “Yetmişli Yıllarda Sag-Sol Kutuplaşmasında Siyasi Düşünceler.” In Türkiye’nin 1970’li Yılları, edited by Mete Kaan Kaynar. Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2020.
Azak, Umut, and Henk De Smaele, “National and Transnational Dynamics of Women’s Activism in Turkey in the 1950s and 1960s: The Story of the ICW Branch in Ankara.” Journal of Women’s History 28, no. 3 (2016): 41-65.
Francisca de Haan, “Continuing Cold War Paradigms in Western Historiography of Transnational Women’s Organizations: The Case of the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF).” Women’s History Review 19, no. 4 (2010): 547-48.
Francisca de Haan, “The Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF): History, Main Agenda and Contributions (1945–1991).” In Women and Social Movements (WASI) Online Archive, ed. Thomas Dublin and Kathryn Kish Sklar (2012), 2, https://search.alexanderstreet.com/wasi.
Gradskova, Yulia. “Women’s International Democratic Federation, the ‘Third World’ and the Global Cold War from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s.” Women’s History Review 29, no. 2 (2020): 270-88.
Gradskova, Yulia. The Women’s International Democratic Federation, the Global South, and the Cold War: Defending the Rights of Women of the ‘Whole World’? London: Routledge, 2020.
Gümrükçü, Selin Bengi. “Ideology, Discourse, and Alliance Structures: Explaining Far-Right Political Violence in Turkey in the 1970s.” Terrorism and Political Violence 34 (2021): 210-24, https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2021.1895121.
Gümrükçü, Selin Bengi. “Reconstructing a Cycle of Protest: Protest and Politics in Turkey, 1971–1985.” PhD diss., University of Zurich, 2014.
Gunter, Michael M. “Political Instability in Turkey during the 1970s.” Journal of Conflict Studies 9, no. 1 (1989): 63-77.
Katozian, Homa. Musaddiq and the Struggle for Power in Iran. London: I. B. Tauris, 1999.
Kaynar, Mete Kaan, ed. Türkiye’nin 1970’li Yılları Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2020).
Keşoğlu, Birsen Talay. “1970’lerin En Kitlesel Kadın Örgütü: İlerici Kadınlar Derneği.” Kültür ve Siyasette Feminist Yaklaşımlar, 12 (2010).
Keşoğlu, Birsen Talay. “Socialist Women’s Organizations in Turkey 1975-1980.” PhD diss., Boğaziçi University, 2007.
Mello, Brian. “Political Process and the Development of Labor Insurgency in Turkey, 1945–80.” Social Movement Studies 6, no. 3 (2007): 207-25.
Özkal, Saadet. “İlerici Kadınlar Derneği,” Amargi (2005).
Pervan, Muazzez, and İlerici Kadınlar Derneği, İlerici Kadınlar Derneği (1975-1980): Kırmızı Çatkılı Kadınlar’ın Tarihi. Istanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları, 2013.
Savran, Sungur et al., “Halk İsyanının Sınıf Karakteri Üzerine Notlar.” In Marksizm ve Sınıflar: Dünyada ve Türkiye’de Sınıflar ve Mücadeleleri, edited by Sungur Savran, Kurtar Tanyılmaz, and E. Ahmet Tonak. İstanbul: Yordam, 2015.
Sayarı, Sabri. “Political Violence and Terrorism in Turkey, 1976–80: A Retrospective Analysis.” Terrorism and Political Violence 22, no. 2 (2010): 198-215, https://doi.org/10.1080/09546550903574438.
Turan, Ömer. “Bu Sayıda . . . Alternatif Tahayüller, Devingenlik, Popülizm: 1970ʹler İçin Bir Çerçeve Denemesi.” Toplum ve Bilim 127, no. 2 (2013): 3-24.
TURKSTAT. Gender Statistics 2013. Ankara: Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu, 2013.
Zürcher, Erik J. Turkey: A Modern History. Indiana: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.

[1] “24 Ocak Emperyalizme ve Siyonizm’e Karşı Arap Halklarıyla Dayanışma Günü [January 24 is the Day of Solidarity with the Arab Peoples Against Imperialism and Zionism].” Kadınların Sesi no. 42 (1979).

[2] “Abone Kampanyamıza Katıl [Join Our Subscriber Campaign].” Kadınların Sesi, no. 23 (1977).

[3] “Abone Kampanyasını Yaygınlaştır! Abone Kampanyasına Katıl! [Expand the Subscriber Campaign! Join the Subscriber Campaign!].” Kadınların Sesi, no. 40 (1978).

[4] “Afganistan Demokratik Kadınlar Birliği [The Democratic Women’s Union of Afghanistan].” Kadınların Sesi no. 43 (1979).

[5] “Emperyalizmin Yeni Savaş Alanı: Lübnan [Lebanon: Imperialism’s New Battleground].” Kadınların Sesi no. 14 (1976).

[6] “Filistin Kurtuluş Örgütü Türkiye’de Büro Açtı [Palestine Liberation Organization Opens Office in Turkey].” Kadınların Sesi no. 52 (1979).

[7] “İlerici Kadinlar Derneği Kuruldu [The Progressive Women’s Association Established].” Kadınların Sesi, 1 (1975).

[8] “İran’da Devrim Utkuya Ulaştı [Iran’s Revolution Has Achieved Victory].” Kadınların Sesi no. 44 (1979).

[9] “İran’da İlerici Kadınlar Mücadelelerini Sürdürüyor [Progressive Women in Iran Continue Their Struggle].” Kadınların Sesi no. 11 (1976).

[10] “İran’da Milyonlar Tek Yumruk; Şah Gitsin Demokrasi Gelsin [Millions Are One Fist in Iran: Let the Shah Go, Let Democracy Come].” Kadınların Sesi no. 42 (1979).

[11] “İranlı Bacılarımıza Bin Selam [Thousands of Salutations to Our Iranian Sisters].” Kadınların Sesi no 44 (1979).

[12] “Kadınlar Hakkında Yanlış Görüşler [Misconceptions About Women].” Kadınların Sesi, no. 1 (1975).

[13] “Komşumuz Irak’ta Kadınlar Toplumsal Kurtuluş Savaşımında Erkeğiyle Omuz Omuza [Women in Our Neighbour Iraq Struggle for Social Liberation Shoulder to Shoulder with Their Men].” Kadınların Sesi no. 22 (1977).

[14] “Ortadoğu’da Terör [Terror in the Middle East].” Kadınların Sesi no. 14 (1978).

[15] “Yardım Kampanyası [Aid Campaign].” Kadınların Sesi no. 6 (1976).

[16] Abrahamian, Ervand. Iran between Two Revolutions. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1982.

[17] Adak, Sevgi. “Yetmisli Yıllarda Kadın Hareketi: Yeni Bir Feminizmin Ayak Sesleri.” In Türkiye’nin Yetmişli Yılları, edited by Mete Kaan Kaynar, 609-29. Istanbul: İletisim Yayınları, 2020.

[18] Ahmad, Feroz. The Making of Modern Turkey. London: Routledge, 1993.

[19] Akal, Emel. Kızıl Feministler: Bir sözlü tarih çalışması. Istanbul: Türkiye Sosyal Tarih Araştırma Vakfı, 2003.

[20] Akkaya, Özlem. “1970’lerin İkinci Yarısında Türkiye’de Sosyalizm ve Kadın: Kadınların Sesi Dergisi Karikatürleri.” Egemia 3 (2018): 66-112.

[21] Akkaya, Özlem. “1970’lerin İkinci Yarısında Türkiye’de Sosyalizm ve Kadın: Kadınların Sesi Dergisi Karikatürleri.” Egemia, 3 (2018).

[22] Alper, Emin. “Student Movement in Turkey from a Global Perspective, 1960–1971.” PhD diss., Boğaçizi University, 2009.

[23] Anonymous, Petrol-İş Yıllığı. Ankara: Petrol-İş, 1988.

[24] Arcayürek, Cüneyd. Demokrasinin Sonbaharı 1977-1978. Ankara: Bilgi Yayınevi, 1985.

[25] Arıkan, Saadet, and İlerici Kadınlar Derneği, Ve Hep Birlikte Koştuk. İstanbul: Açı Yayıncılık, 1996.

[26] Aytürk, İlker and Tanil Bora. “Yetmişli Yıllarda Sag-Sol Kutuplaşmasında Siyasi Düşünceler.” In Türkiye’nin 1970’li Yılları, edited by Mete Kaan Kaynar. Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2020.

[27] Azak, Umut, and Henk De Smaele, “National and Transnational Dynamics of Women’s Activism in Turkey in the 1950s and 1960s: The Story of the ICW Branch in Ankara.” Journal of Women’s History 28, no. 3 (2016): 41-65.

[28] Francisca de Haan, “Continuing Cold War Paradigms in Western Historiography of Transnational Women’s Organizations: The Case of the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF).” Women’s History Review 19, no. 4 (2010): 547-48.

[29] Francisca de Haan, “The Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF): History, Main Agenda and Contributions (1945–1991).” In Women and Social Movements (WASI) Online Archive, ed. Thomas Dublin and Kathryn Kish Sklar (2012), 2, https://search.alexanderstreet.com/wasi.

[30] Gradskova, Yulia. “Women’s International Democratic Federation, the ‘Third World’ and the Global Cold War from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s.” Women’s History Review 29, no. 2 (2020): 270-88.

[31] Gradskova, Yulia. The Women’s International Democratic Federation, the Global South, and the Cold War: Defending the Rights of Women of the ‘Whole World’? London: Routledge, 2020.

[32] Gümrükçü, Selin Bengi. “Ideology, Discourse, and Alliance Structures: Explaining Far-Right Political Violence in Turkey in the 1970s.” Terrorism and Political Violence 34 (2021): 210-24, https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2021.1895121.

[33] Gümrükçü, Selin Bengi. “Reconstructing a Cycle of Protest: Protest and Politics in Turkey, 1971–1985.” PhD diss., University of Zurich, 2014.

[34] Gunter, Michael M. “Political Instability in Turkey during the 1970s.” Journal of Conflict Studies 9, no. 1 (1989): 63-77.

[35] Katozian, Homa. Musaddiq and the Struggle for Power in Iran. London: I. B. Tauris, 1999.

[36] Kaynar, Mete Kaan, ed. Türkiye’nin 1970’li Yılları Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2020).

[37] Keşoğlu, Birsen Talay. “1970’lerin En Kitlesel Kadın Örgütü: İlerici Kadınlar Derneği.” Kültür ve Siyasette Feminist Yaklaşımlar, 12 (2010).

[38] Keşoğlu, Birsen Talay. “Socialist Women’s Organizations in Turkey 1975-1980.” PhD diss., Boğaziçi University, 2007.

[39] Mello, Brian. “Political Process and the Development of Labor Insurgency in Turkey, 1945–80.” Social Movement Studies 6, no. 3 (2007): 207-25.

[40] Özkal, Saadet. “İlerici Kadınlar Derneği,” Amargi (2005).

[41] Pervan, Muazzez, and İlerici Kadınlar Derneği, İlerici Kadınlar Derneği (1975-1980): Kırmızı Çatkılı Kadınlar’ın Tarihi. Istanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları, 2013.

[42] Savran, Sungur et al., “Halk İsyanının Sınıf Karakteri Üzerine Notlar.” In Marksizm ve Sınıflar: Dünyada ve Türkiye’de Sınıflar ve Mücadeleleri, edited by Sungur Savran, Kurtar Tanyılmaz, and E. Ahmet Tonak. İstanbul: Yordam, 2015.

[43] Sayarı, Sabri. “Political Violence and Terrorism in Turkey, 1976–80: A Retrospective Analysis.” Terrorism and Political Violence 22, no. 2 (2010): 198-215, https://doi.org/10.1080/09546550903574438.

[44] Turan, Ömer. “Bu Sayıda . . . Alternatif Tahayüller, Devingenlik, Popülizm: 1970ʹler İçin Bir Çerçeve Denemesi.” Toplum ve Bilim 127, no. 2 (2013): 3-24.

[45] TURKSTAT. Gender Statistics 2013. Ankara: Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu, 2013.

[46] Zürcher, Erik J. Turkey: A Modern History. Indiana: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.

Reading the Middle East through the Lens of Women’s Press in Turkey

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References 46