Gender-based populism

It referred, of course, to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's oft-repeated recommendation that Turkish women bear at least three children.

Now attempting to strengthen his base by pressing all the populist buttons, the beleaguered prime minister has returned to a theme he launched last year. In a recent speech he once again railed against abortion and caesarean sections, which he saw as part of the "birth control mechanisms" used for years to "sterilize" the Turkish population and weaken the country. Who he believed was behind this particular conspiracy was unclear. Perhaps it was the interest lobby. Mr. Erdoğan urged Turkish women to foil these devious games and go on populating the country.  

The prime minister's attempt to narrow down the choices open to the country's female citizens and impose a single narrative on gender roles is meeting stronger resistance. Much has been said already about the youth factor that drove the Gezi protests. But the demonstrations had a gender dimension, too. Women, under-represented in Turkish political and public life, participated in large numbers in the recent demonstrations, mainly because the conservative outlook that Mr. Erdoğan has been promoting and lately seeking to impose more actively on the population affect them directly. Many Turkish women may, of course, enjoy staying at home to look after their children, but they want the right to choose, rather than be dictated to by officials.   

The Turkish prime minister's controversial rhetoric on gender issues has drawn the ire of women's groups. He is, however, not alone to hold the patronizing perception that members of the female gender can be collectively labeled. Those who, angered by the shocking level of police brutality, chose to vent their frustration against the government by insulting women wearing headscarves were also focusing on an easy target and making sweeping assumptions that ignored the individuals beyond the head-covering.

The verbal assaults that are a perennial feature of Turkish politics and the institutional brutality that we witnessed in the past three weeks cannot be separated from the overall level of coercion and violence within the society. Most of the initial Gezi protesters, challenging a patriarchal and outdated approach that gives priority to the interests of middle-aged men, sought to foster a more inclusive society and a more participatory form of decision-making.

Part of this project is a more gender equal society. Too many women are still being murdered and abused by their partners for making independent choices and refusing to toe the line drawn for them by others.

Courts, in the meantime, all too often continue to support patriarchal perceptions by showing excessive leniency toward perpetrators. Social media was abuzz in recent days with strong reactions when a court in Bingöl decided to release four noncommissioned officers accused of the rape, over a period of two years, of a young girl who was only 14 when the abuse began. The court also imposed secrecy on the proceeding, limiting the victim's lawyer access to the facts of the case. In response to the popular outrage, Minister for Family and Social Policy Fatma Şahin has announced that she would send a team to investigate and ensure the victim's rights are properly defended. The only woman in the Cabinet, Ms. Şahin is more aware of how vulnerable some women and girls are in this society.

The prime minister, however, continues to promote his traditional gender agenda. In the short term, his revival of the debate on abortion and contraception may win over a few conservative minds. But his blind ignorance of economic realities, which limit the number of children most Turkish couples can afford to bring up, and his attempt to stem the tide of social change in Turkey make him increasingly out of touch with the country's young population.