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Progression of Third-Wave Feminism in Turkey

One major difference of the third wave compared to the first and second was the global reach of feminists to others around the world to gain power and equality within their own cultures and communities using voice as substance. In Turkey, the feminist movement is often separated into three separate wave classifications. The first wave dates back to the early 20th century when women faced issues with civil and political rights in 1920. According to Şule Toktaş, "The Kemalist ideal of becoming a Westernized society required legal equality between all citizens irrespective of gender" keeping hand in hand with the ideal of feminists in that era. The second wave came much later in 1980, after the military coup d’état. Women in Turkey were subjected to what women in other countries identified as sexist behavior: the scrutinization of women in the media, experiencing violence against women and making oppression of women became more apparent to bystanders.

During the leftist movements of the 1960s and 1970s, Kurdish women were active in politics but struggled with socialism and being seen as equals in society. In addition, Kurdish women argued that their "sexuality and individuality are ignored"    Women that worked were described as sexless militants by Turkish society. Movements in the 1980s focused on the ethnic problems along with socialism. A majority of these Kurdish women stayed at home in what was considered full obedience to their husband. These women, begun to stand up for their rights within the households and society and advocating against sexual oppression. They struggled against their culture, traditions, and languages. These struggles laid the foundations for the Kurdish women’s movement. The movement for feminism stimulated women in Turkey to become gender-conscious and to distinguish themselves away from organizations for men as well ass create and organize movements and organization with their own identities as feminists in mind. Today, Islamic women are standing up for their rights of language, culture, and identity, all of which contribute to individuals' recognition as Muslims and characteristics in themselves as feminist.

The third wave came into effect between 1990 and 2000 and is thought to still be in occurrence today. This new wave has been termed by the Turkish Republic as 'Kurdish nationalist feminism.'  According to the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, "Kurdish women’s groups pinpointed the dual exploitation that Kurdish women have experienced in the patriarchal tribal system dominant in Kurdish culture and the imperialist system that the centralist Turkish state has imposed on Kurdish people." Islamic feminist soon after began condemning the United States and European countries for their interference of cultural, economic and political notions and how they affect Muslim society. Islamic women have since found ways to continue to adhere to the Muslim religion and connect with feminist politics.

A Kurdish women’s organization, KAMER, is one of the largest feminist organizations. Most of the founders are Kurdish women who have endured violence from men, oftentimes, their husbands. The founders of KAMER understand the difficulties other women continue to face with Kurdish conflict and violence. KAMER has found that it is common for such abuse to occur in the homes of these women. KAMER’s goals have extended beyond helping just women and have developed systems that change and improve human rights and end violence culturally and traditionally that affect both women and children. Beyond Kamer, Cagla Diner andŞulecites Toktaş,cited other Kurdish women's organizations such as DIKASUM, Kardelen, Selis and VAKAD which [also] focus on the difﬁculties women face."

Throughout Turkey's feminists movement, feminists of the new era have elected to battle the unequal treatment of women especially in the Muslim community. This time, however, feminists have been seeking to approach the gender issues from a different context by addressing the employment crisis and exploiting the reasons why women receive little economic independence or are not allowed enough involvement in local or national affairs. Adam Leake stated in his article A Brief History of the Feminist Movements in Turkey, "Overcoming these gender-stereotypes of the family orientated mother whose job it is to look after the children is a crucial step towards achieving equal status of women in the community." Since the 1990s feminist organizations from around Turkey have met up annually to share in a discussion of their goal to stop violence against women. New proposals and topics such as shelters for women are also discussed during the annual meetings. Although both Kurdish and Turkish feminist groups are working together, women still face challenges with discrimination and sexism.