ISTANBUL CONVENTION AND FEMINIST STRUGGLE: A REVIEW ON THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT AND LEGAL CONTEXT IN TÜRKİYE

Date

2025-9-10

Author

Gökdemir, Fatma Kübra

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The concept of violence against women has undergone a social transformation in the period from the No to Beating Women rally of the feminist movement in Türkiye in the 1980s to the adoption of the Istanbul Convention in 2011. Feminists in Türkiye played a significant role in the realization of numerous transformations in the field of law in the 2000s and increased their contact with international women's movements. It was a time when Türkiye's EU accession process was ongoing, and the concept of gender equality gained prominence. This study argues that the feminist movement in Türkiye had a positive impact on the adoption of the Istanbul Convention and that the withdrawal of the Istanbul Convention expanded the scope of the feminist movement's struggle. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with academics at law faculties, social scientists, lawyers, and activists working in women's organisations. The Istanbul Convention must recognise economic and psychological violence in addition to physical violence. Violence against women in Türkiye has now become more visible in the public sphere and is on the agenda, with the murders of women and what happens in courtrooms. The feminist movement ensured the adoption of the Istanbul Convention without reservations. In addition, the feminist movement developed various strategies during the process of enacting Law No. 6284 and got their demands for rights accepted. In the field study, it was stated that the state did not fulfil its obligations arising from the Istanbul Convention due to the lack of political will and the continuation of patriarchal relations. However, starting from the 2010s, the anti-gender movement gained strength in Türkiye at a time similar to the rest of the world. This study argues that Türkiye’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention has diversified the field of struggle for the feminist movement in Türkiye, but has not significantly expanded it. This claim is based on the fact that feminist activists in Türkiye have engaged in law-making processes and have had to develop survival strategies specific to their movement, which has strengthened the feminist movement. However, anti-gender movements have also negatively influenced the expansion of this field.

Subject Keywords

Istanbul Convention, feminist movement, law, violence against women, Turkiye

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115646

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis