Title: Voices of Resistance: Women’s Activism in the Face of Authoritarianism in Turkey
Author: Milena Ozernova
Publisher: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen
Source LINK: Royal Danish Library | kb.dk

Abstract: This study examines the consequences of the backlash against gender equality on feminist NGOs in Türkiye. Employing qualitative methods and a quantitative survey, this research addresses three key themes. First, it examines both the historical context and present-day political factors driving the backlash and the backsliding of women’s rights in the country. Second, it explores the challenges Turkish women face as a result of the entrenched patriarchy and gender roles, as these challenges have become the central focus of feminist NGOs’ projectification. Third, it shows how these NGOs continue their work amid growing government restrictions. The study finds that feminist NGOs in Türkiye exhibit characteristics of both projectified organizations and social movements, using projectification to sustain their activities in the context of backlash, while simultaneously functioning as part of a broader feminist movement to advance their large-scale demands for ending gender-based violence and discrimination. This dual approach distinguishes them from the commonly conceptualized feminist NGOs in the MENA region, which are more narrowly focused on projectification without pursuing a larger feminist agenda to addresss tructural inequalities.

Note: Master’s thesis (submitted July 2025), currently being revised for submission as a peer-reviewed article.