Political Representation of Women in Turkey. Institutional Opportunities versus Cultural Constraints

Abstract

This paper analyzes both the descriptive and the substantive sides of women’s representation in Turkey and argues that although the proportion of women politicians in the Turkish Parliament increased from only 4 % in 1999 to 17.6 % in the 2018 general elections, this has not been reflected in an increase in women MPs’ effectiveness. This article mainly argues that as electoral competition increases, women candidates’ chances of being elected decrease. On the other hand, more equal distributions of seats between parties positively influence women’s representation. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, women’s movements and grassroots demands for women’s rights in Turkey, which coincided with the highly welcomed EU accession process, complemented these institutional opportunities to foster women’s representation and break traditional patron-client relations. Overall, however, cultural constraints, such as high polarization between parties and the clash of Islamist and European values inhibit women MPs from cooperating on policies concerning women, and strict party discipline reduces the parliamentary effectiveness of Turkish women politicians.