"History has repeatedly shown that while women often play a key role
in revolutions around the world, they are sidelined once the goals of
the struggles have been accomplished."
http://womensenews.org/story/the-world/130711/women-turkish-uprising-might-be-different
For Women, Turkish Uprising Might Be Different
By Simran Sachdev
WeNews commentator
Friday, July 12, 2013
This is the country, after all, with a founder named Ataturk, who
espoused the full social integration of women as essential to
modernizing the nation. That might set these protests apart from
what's happening in Egypt and what happened in Iran.
(WOMENSENEWS)--Look at what's been happening to the women of the
Egyptian uprising.
They played a key role in protests that started in January 2011 to
overthrow Egypt's former president, Hosni Mubarak. They believed that
their critical role in the revolution would give them significant
authority in deciding what came next. After Mubarak, they dared to
imagine greater autonomy lay ahead.
More than two years later, all that's in tatters. The constitutional
drafting process, which was suspended, offered women nothing. Their
rights have been violated even during protests through constant sexual
harassment and abuse, with authorities doing nothing about it. Last
week saw reports of female protesters being raped.
In the mass demonstrations in Turkey, women have drawn international
recognition for making up about half of the protestors in Istanbul's
Taksim Square, demanding that Gezi Park be preserved, and that Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stop his attacks on demonstrators.
While these protests are not on the scale of those in Egypt, they are
substantial enough that women have expressed hope that after the
demonstrations are over, they may have a chance at an equal voice in
Turkey. Women in Turkey do hold more rights than their counterparts in
many other Middle Eastern countries, but their rights have been
declining and are frequently at risk.
Jilted Revolutionaries
Female revolutionaries have been jilted many times before.
During the Iranian Revolution of 1979, women played a key role in
overthrowing the American-backed Shah and helping Ayatollah Khomeini
come into power so their country could be free from forced
Westernization. But they also advocated for equal rights and autonomy
for all Iranians. Instead of improving women's status, Khomeini
stripped them of the rights they already held. He made wearing the
hijab mandatory for all women, segregated the sexes and diminished
women's roles in public offices.
In South Africa and Cuba, women did attain greater rights
post-revolution. But that's not the trend.
History has repeatedly shown that while women often play a key role in
revolutions around the world, they are sidelined once the goals of the
struggles have been accomplished.
So what about Turkey?
If the protests there turn into outright revolution, there is a chance
that things might play out differently. Women just might gain, given
the Turkish people's strong history and dedication to their founder
and first president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Irrespective of some of Ataturk's less popular acts, he firmly
believed in fully integrating women into society and saw this as
essential to modernizing the country. His legacy of promoting women's
rights may potentially have a strong impact on what happens to women
if Erdogan falls, as many Turks share Ataturk's secular beliefs.
If people protesting against Erdogan and his policies are also
fighting against his Islamist ideals and calling for a return to more
secular policies, then gender equality is essential to their demands.
There is a possibility that women will not be forgotten this time
around.
Transforming the Government
Erdogan has been transforming the spirit of the Turkish government
from Ataturk's secularism to his own Islamist ideals. His Justice and
Development Party (AKP) has been the first Islamist party to survive
inTurkey without being dismantled by military intervention or the
courts. He has also taken numerous measures to prevent the
military--with a history of four coups since 1960--from getting
involved in politics this time around.
If these protests end with Erdogan still in power, there is no reason
to expect any real change in women's rights in the country. Erdogan
has attacked women's reproductive rights by saying abortion is akin to
murder and has gone as far as opposing Caesarean sections, calling
them unnatural. He has urged women to have at least three children,
has removed the Ministry for Women and Family (and replaced it with
the Ministry of Family and Social Policies) and has not done enough to
decrease the high rate of violence against women in the country.
It is impossible to know how far these protests will go, and if Turkey
will fall into the pattern of the numerous revolutions that have
oppressed women to date. But Turkey's women have hope that their
nation will be different. Having such hope, and the foresight to
consider what may happen after, is essential to changing the pattern.
There is potential that, perhaps, Turkey will be different.
Simran Sachdev is an activist and freelance writer with a passion for
human rights and gender equality. She holds an M.S. in global affairs
with a concentration in human rights and humanitarian assistance from
New York University, and is currently working in the international
nonprofit world. Follow her on Twitter @Simran84.
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