{"id":11434,"date":"2023-01-02T14:30:02","date_gmt":"2023-01-02T14:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/2023\/01\/rs\/"},"modified":"2024-11-20T21:54:47","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T18:54:47","slug":"role-of-women-in-turkish-foreign-policy-gender-equitable-future-in-turkey-rahime-suleymanoglu-kurum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/2023\/01\/role-of-women-in-turkish-foreign-policy-gender-equitable-future-in-turkey-rahime-suleymanoglu-kurum\/","title":{"rendered":"Role of Women in Turkish Foreign Policy: Gender-Equitable Future in Turkey – Rahime S\u00fcleymano\u011flu K\u00fcr\u00fcm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The role of women in foreign policy has been\nincreasingly aspired to and discussed since the early 1990s. However, due to\nthe different behavioral patterns imposed on women and men by gender norms,\nwomen worldwide still have difficulty finding a place in foreign policy.\nResearch findings on women’s political representation reported that men\ngenerally focus on security and economic issues and women on issues concerning\nthe private sphere and women (Acker, 1990). Defense and military issues have\nbeen identified with masculinity, and women\u2019s contribution to this field has\nbeen restricted due to gender norms (Kronsell, 2005). According to widely\naccepted stereotypes, masculinity is characterized by being brave and rational and\nassociated with leadership, warrior, and independence. In contrast, femininity\nis characterized by adjectives such as being emotional, subordination, peaceful\nand acting naturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although there has been a significant rise in\nfeminist international relations studies since the 1990s, women could not find\na credible space for themselves in the field of foreign policy and diplomacy in\nthe 1990s, which was referred to as a “hot peace” environment dominated\nby security concerns. However, since the mid-2000s, in parallel with the rise\nof soft power, humanitarian diplomacy, and public diplomacy discussions in international\nrelations, women’s contribution to the field of foreign policy started to be recognized\nto a greater extent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkish foreign policy has not been left out of\nthese discussions and has developed in line with the general trend in the world\n(S\u00fcleymano\u011flu-K\u00fcr\u00fcm & Rumelili, 2018). I will discuss the rise of women in\nTurkish foreign policy and diplomacy in this paper from a historical\nperspective and provide suggestions to increase women’s role and effectiveness\nand create a more gender-equal Turkish foreign policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand the rise of women in Turkish\nforeign policy, it is first necessary to elaborate on women’s traditional roles\nin Turkish diplomacy. When we look at feminist history, just like the European\nimperial palaces, the women of the Ottoman court have played a significant role\nin diplomacy and acted as a communication channel to access the often-inaccessible\nOttoman sultan. They did so by exchanging letters and gifts with women of the\nEuropean palaces and directly communicating with resident representatives of\nEuropean powers in \u0130stanbul since at least the 15th<\/sup> century (Pierce,\n1993: 221). Since the Ottoman Empire did not accept resident diplomacy and the\nprinciple of reciprocity until the 18th<\/sup> century, it did not have\nestablished European representations (Ar\u0131, 2004: 52-53). The women of the\npalace filled this gap by assuming essential diplomatic responsibilities. However,\nwith the professionalization of diplomacy with the Congress of Vienna, just\nlike in Europe, the diplomatic roles of the women of the Ottoman court were\nlimited due to the establishment of an all-male diplomatic structure, thereby\nmaking diplomacy and foreign policy male-dominated domains (Rumelili &\nS\u00fcleymano\u011flu-K\u00fcr\u00fcm, 2018: 90).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, with the influence of the\nfeminist movement that emerged in the 19th<\/sup> century in the Ottoman\nEmpire and strengthened with the modernization process, women gained the right\nto work in paid jobs, become civil servants in 1913, and access to higher\neducation in 1914. In addition to securing these rights from the Ottoman state,\nthe early feminist movement encouraged Turkish women to actively demand\npolitical, economic, and social rights in the Turkish Republic, founded in\n1923. Turkish modernization in the Republican era perceived the visibility of\nwomen in the public sphere as an essential indicator of modernity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Turkish woman idealized by the modernization\nof the Republic should be well-educated, have an appearance that would aspire\nto the professions traditionally performed by men, and be active and visible in\nthe public sphere. In this framework, the first visibility of women, who gained\nthe right to education and employment, in the field of foreign policy appeared\nin 1932, when a woman applied for the recruitment exams of the Ministry of\nForeign Affairs for the first time. Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk was informed about\nthe issue and instructed that the female candidate should be subjected to the\nsame recruitment procedures. As such, Adile Ayda, the first Turkish woman\ndiplomat, took office in 1932. This can be a record that Turkish diplomacy can\nbe proud of. As a matter of fact, in 1933, only 13 countries had female\ndiplomats, and one of them was Turkey (Bloch, 2004).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most crucial obstacle to women’s influence\nin foreign policy is the marriage bar applied to female diplomats in many\ncountries in official diplomacy. Such bar or restriction has never existed in\nTurkish diplomacy. However, the first Turkish woman diplomat, Adile Ayda,\nresigned only after two years when a decree was issued in 1934 banning women\nfrom being appointed to overseas representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While 1934 witnessed this practice, which\nundermined the visibility of women in diplomacy, it also paved the way for\nwomen’s presence in the political arena, as women were granted the legal right\nto be elected in the same year. It is possible to explain this contradiction\nwith the incompatibility between the expectations of the modernization process\nand the existing gender norms and stereotypes in society and foreign\npolicy-making practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is possible to take the year 1957 as the real\nturning point in the visibility of women in Turkish foreign policy as the 1934\ndecree was abolished and paved the way for the first Turkish women diplomat,\nAdile Ayda, to return to her diplomatic career. However, it took another 25\nyears for a female diplomat to rise to the level of ambassador when Filiz\nDin\u00e7men was appointed to The Hague and became the first Turkish woman\nambassador. However, the appointment of the second female ambassador took\nanother ten years, and Solmaz \u00dcnayd\u0131n became the second Turkish female\nambassador in 1992. In the interviews she gave to the media, Ambassador \u00dcnayd\u0131n\nstated that she had difficulties as a woman and that the title of ambassador\nwas mainly reserved for men who graduated from Galatasaray High School<\/em>\nand M\u00fclkiye<\/em> (today Ankara University\u2019s Faculty of Political Sciences)\nwithin the Ministry, and that she waited eight years while the men promoted to\nthe rank of ambassador in 3-4 years. On the other hand, Solmaz \u00dcnayd\u0131n also\nunderlined the personal efforts of Turgut \u00d6zal and S\u00fcleyman Demirel in\nincreasing the role and visibility of women in diplomacy (Pamir, 2006;\nS\u00fcleymano\u011flu-K\u00fcr\u00fcm and Rumelili, 2018: 13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that Tansu \u00c7iller took\noffice as Turkey’s first female Prime Minister in 1993, one year after Solmaz\n\u00dcnayd\u0131n was appointed ambassador. Anna Philips (1998) emphasized the importance\nof having a role model while underlining the importance of women’s political\nrepresentation. Tansu \u00c7iller, who also served as the Minister of State in Charge\nof the Economy between 1991 and 1993, continued to serve as the Minister of\nForeign Affairs between 28 June 1996 and 30 June 1997 in the coalition government\nformed by the Welfare Party and the True Path Party in the period following his\nprime ministership and remained on the political scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1998 can be considered another milestone\nregarding the visibility of women in Turkish diplomacy. The ratio of female\ncareer employees in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs increased from 13,4% in\n1990 to 24% in 1998. After this milestone, the increase in the ratio of female career\nemployees in the Ministry continued at a slower pace. For example, this ratio\nincreased by only 2,32 points until 2014, reaching only 26,32%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leap in the ratio of women in the Ministry\nof Foreign Affairs in 1998 was made possible by a decree issued that year,\nabolishing the prohibition of assigning diplomatic couples to the same city. At\nthe same time, for the first time, three women diplomats were promoted to the\nrank of ambassador (\u015eule Soysal to Belarus, Veka \u0130nal to the Philippines, and\nF\u00fcsun \u00c7etinta\u015f to Singapore). This decree touched upon an integral structural\ninequality in front of women diplomats, who managed to secure a place in the\ndiplomatic profession and liberated them from the difficult choice of resigning\nfrom their posts to be with their spouses or taking extended unpaid leaves\n(Ergin, 1998; S\u00fcleymano\u011flu-K\u00fcr\u00fcm and Rumelili, 2018: 11, 14). Not having to\nchoose between family life and their professions has paved the way for many\nwomen to aspire to a career in diplomacy. The practice of appointing couples in\nthe same city or overseas representations close to each other has been improved\nover the years, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has become more gender\nequal. In line with this, the ratio of female ambassadors in Turkey by 2021\nreached 25%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies on gender and diplomacy underline that\nwomen try to find a space for themselves with individual-level gender\nperformances instead of engaging in feminist activism (S\u00fcleymano\u011flu-K\u00fcr\u00fcm &\nRumelili, 2022). Many women diplomats in Turkey, in the words of the second\nTurkish woman Ambassador Solmaz \u00dcnayd\u0131n, \u201cplayed with the rules of the game\u201d\nand acted against the stereotypes associated with femininity by performing\nstereotypes such as rationally and not showing their emotions. Such gender performances\nopened space for more women, and their visibility is boosted thanks to the rise\nof humanitarian diplomacy and soft power in foreign policy, which valorized\nstereotypes associated with femininity (S\u00fcleymano\u011flu-K\u00fcr\u00fcm & Rumelili,\n2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In feminist studies, it is argued that marginalized\ncommunities have a greater chance of representing the whole (Jaggar, 2004:\n55-57). Women\u2019s visibility in a high-status field of diplomacy in Turkey will\nensure that women’s issues and experiences are considered in foreign\npolicy-making processes. It should be remembered that quotas still play an\nimportant role in ensuring the meaningful participation of women for a more\ngender-equal Turkey. Increasing descriptive representation is likely to relieve\nwomen from engaging with different gender performances to seek individual\nsuccess and find a space for themselves. Women who can be themselves are more\nlikely to reflect on women’s issues in the policy-making process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaynak\u00e7a<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acker, Joan. 1990. ‘Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organisations’. Gender and Society<\/em> 4 (2): 139-158.
Ar\u0131, B\u00fclent. 2004. \u2018Early Ottoman Diplomacy: Ad Hoc Period\u2019. Nuri Yurdusev (der.), Ottoman Diplomacy, Conventional or Unconventional?<\/em> Basingstoke and Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan: 36\u201365.
Ergin, Sedat. 1998. \u201cD\u0131\u015fi\u015fleri Kad\u0131nlardan Sorulacak\u201d, Milliyet, 22 \u015eubat, http:\/\/www.hurriyet.com.tr\/index\/ArsivNews. aspx?id=-7352 (Eri\u015fim Tarihi 1 Eyl\u00fcl 2016).
Pamir, Bal\u00e7i\u00e7ek. 2006. \u2018Japonya B\u00fcy\u00fckel\u00e7isi Solmaz \u00dcnayd\u0131n: Kad\u0131n\u0131m diye tam 8 y\u0131l b\u00fcy\u00fckel\u00e7i yapmad\u0131lar\u2019, Sabah<\/em>, 28 A\u011fustos http:\/\/arsiv.sabah.com.tr\/2006\/08\/28\/pamir.html, (Eri\u015fim Tarihi 24 Nisan 2017).
Peirce, Leslie P. 1993. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire<\/em>. New York: Oxford University Press.
Phillips, A. (1998). The politics of presence<\/em>. OUP Oxford.
Rumelili, Bahar ve Rahime S\u00fcleymano\u011flu-Kurum. 2018. \u2018Women and Gender in Turkish Diplomacy: Historical Legacies and Current Patterns\u2019. Karin Aggestam ve Ann Towns (der.), Gendering Diplomacy and International Negotiation<\/em>. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan: 87-106.
S\u00fcleymano\u011flu-K\u00fcr\u00fcm, Rahime ve Bahar Rumelili. 2022. \u2018From Female Masculinity to Hegemonic Femininity: Evolving Gender Performances of Turkish Women Diplomats\u2019. The Hague Journal of Diplomacy<\/em>, 1 (aop): 1-30.
S\u00fcleymano\u011flu-K\u00fcr\u00fcm, Rahime ve Bahar Rumelili. 2005. \u2018Diplomaside Kad\u0131n ve Egemen Mask\u00fclenlik: De\u011fi\u015fen Normlar ve Pratikler\u2019. Uluslararas\u0131 \u0130li\u015fkiler,<\/em> 15 (57): 3-18.
Jaggar, A. M. (2004). Feminist politics and epistemology: The standpoint of women. In S. Harding (Ed.), The feminist standpoint theory reader: Intellectual and political controversies<\/em> (pp. 55-66). Routledge.
Kronsell, Annica.2005. \u2018Gendered practices in institutions of hegemonic masculinity. International Feminist Journal of Politics<\/em>, 7 (2): 280\u2013298.
Zarakol, Ay\u015fe. 2011. After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West<\/em>. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Assoc. Prof. Rahime S\u00fcleymano\u011flu-K\u00fcr\u00fcm<\/strong> is a faculty member in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Bah\u00e7e\u015fehir University and Jean Monnet Chair of Feminist Epistemic Justice Beyond the European Union (FEJUST). She completed her undergraduate degree in International Relations at Eastern Mediterranean University in 2005, and her Master\u2019s degree in International Law at the University of Nottingham in 2006. Dr. S\u00fcleymano\u011flu-K\u00fcr\u00fcm also received her PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham in 2012. Currently, she is an external research fellow of the Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP). Dr. S\u00fcleymano\u011flu-K\u00fcr\u00fcm conducts research in the fields of Europeanization, European Union and gender equality policies, gender in diplomacy, and elite sociology in bureaucracy. She is the author of the book ‘Conditionality, the EU and Turkey’, published by Routledge in 2019, and the editor of ‘Feminist Framing of Europeanisation’ published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2021. Her articles have been published in high-impact journals such as Geopolitics, Political Studies Review, Third World Quarterly, and the Journal of Common Market Studies. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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To cite this work:<\/strong> Rahime S\u00fcleymano\u011flu K\u00fcr\u00fcm, ” Role of women in Turkish foreign policy: Gender-equitable future in Turkey\u201d, Panorama, Online, 02 January 2023, https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/blog\/2023\/01\/02\/rs\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This article has been prepared with the support provided to the International Relations Council<\/a> and the Global Academy<\/a> by the Heinrich B\u00f6ll Stiftung Association Turkey Representative within the scope of the project titled ‘Foreign Policy for the 21st Century; Peaceful, Equitable, and Dynamic Turkey’.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Copyright@UIKPanorama. All on-line and print rights reserved. Opinions expressed in works published by the Panorama belongs to the authors alone unless otherwise stated, and do not imply endorsement by the IRCT, Global Academy, or the Editors\/Editorial Board of Panorama.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The role of women in foreign policy has been increasingly aspired to and discussed since the early 1990s. However, due to the different behavioral patterns imposed on women and men by gender norms, women worldwide still have difficulty finding a place in foreign policy. Research findings on women’s political representation reported that men generally focus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":9827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[510,486,508],"tags":[656,563,565,713,650],"class_list":["post-11434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-100-years-of-the-republic","category-opinion","category-turkey","tag-english","tag-foreign-policy-and-diplomacy","tag-gender","tag-heinrich-boll-foundation","tag-turkiye"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}