Abstract Book of the 7th Global Conference on Women’s Studies
Year: 2025
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Violence Against Women in Turkey: A Gender Analysis of The AKP
Dr. Melek Halifeoğlu, Dr. Hamide Değer
ABSTRACT:
This paper examines the persistence and transformation of violence against women in Turkey through a gender-focused analysis of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. Since its rise to power in 2002, the AKP has implemented a wide range of policies that, while often framed within a discourse of “family values” and “protecting women,” have increasingly reproduced patriarchal norms and gender hierarchies. Drawing on feminist political theory and critical discourse analysis, this study explores how the AKP’s ideological framework, institutional practices, and legal reforms have shaped both the visibility and normalization of gender-based violence. The paper argues that the AKP’s approach to women’s rights is not only shaped by conservative cultural codes but is also embedded in a broader political project that instrumentalizes gender for the consolidation of authoritarian-populist hegemony. The withdrawal from the Istanbul
Convention, the weakening of institutional mechanisms for combating violence, and the rhetorical emphasis on motherhood and obedience have all contributed to the systemic neglect and legitimization of violence against women. This analysis also draws on empirical data and NGO reports to assess the increasing rates of femicide and domestic violence in the past two decades, linking them to the erosion of gender equality in public policy. By critically engaging with the intersection of gender, power, and ideology in the Turkish context, this paper contributes to a growing body of feminist scholarship on authoritarianism, populism, and the gendered dimensions of state violence.
Keywords: Gender-based violence, AKP, authoritarian populism, Istanbul Convention, feminist analysis, Turkey