Turkey as Producer and Exporter of Anti-Gender Politics: Islamic Civil Society’s Epistemic, Transnational, and Everyday Mobilizations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/s0102-6992-20254003e58701Palabras clave:
Anti-gender politics, Civil society, Political Islam, Faith-based NGOs, TurkeyResumen
This article argues that Turkey has become both a producer and exporter of anti-gender politics through the coordinated efforts of the state and a dense network of Islamic civil society organizations. While anti-gender mobilizations elsewhere often emerge from bottom-up coalitions of religious, conservative, and right-wing actors, Turkey's model is distinctly state-led. In Turkey, anti-gender discourse and activism are orchestrated through state institutions and loyalist faith-based NGOs that function as extensions of the regime's ideological and policy agenda. Working in tandem with the state, these civil society actors help legitimize gender hierarchy, promote religious familism, and target gender equality frameworks. Drawing on a feminist political sociology approach, the article traces how Islamic NGOs, think tanks, and transnational coalitions operationalize anti-gender politics across epistemic, transnational, and everyday domains. It demonstrates that the civil society label enables these actors to frame exclusionary politics as culturally grounded advocacy and to construct competing gender models that challenge the global rights-based consensus.Descargas
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