Strong in the Movement,Strong in the Party: Women’s Representation in the Kurdish Party of Turkey

Abstract

This article shows how extant theories on women’s representation in parties can only partially explain the Kurdish ethno-nationalist party’s exceptional level of women’s descriptive representation vis-à-vis the Turkish average. It demonstrates that women’s very high level of representation in the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) can be better understood by examining the interaction between party-related and movement-related factors. Drawing on extensive empirical research, the study demonstrates that the party’s leftist ideology, along with the mobilisation strategies and needs of the movement, have had a decisive impact in creating the conditions for women’s self-assertion and their taking positions of power within the party, including the adoption and scrupulous implementation of a voluntary party gender quota. The study suggests that, in the case of parties closely tied to broader social movements, it is the relationship between the two organisations (party and movement), rather than just the former, that should be analysed. This is particularly evident in the case of ethno-nationalist parties that emanate from highly mobilised or even armed movements.

Keywords

women’s descriptive representation Turkey ethno-nationalist movements Kurdish women quota

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