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| Turkishprofessor Gülay Günlük-Senesen visits the UT on December 5. Foto: Gijs van Ouwerkerk |
According to Gülay, ‘In the world of academia, the urban women of Turkey face less obstacles than their European counterparts.’ For the rural women of Turkey, however, ‘education is still considered a luxury.’
Statistics show that the number of full professor positions held by women in Turkey jumped from 20.8 percent in 1993 to 26.9 percent in 2006. In comparison to their European sisters, Turkish women are climbing faster up the academic ladder.
In other countries within the European Union (EU), women are often forced to have part-time careers, whereas in Turkey the extended family can care for children and otherwise there are adequate day-care facilities available.
The urban environments of Turkey provide a nesting ground for women intellectuals with high ambitions. The prospects for employment and the social infrastructures support females to follow their career path.
Yet on the other hand, it’s worth mentioning that the poverty-stricken rural villages of Turkey do not afford young girls the chance to become educated, most girls will not even graduate from a primary school.
Growing-up in the stylish neighborhoods of Istanbul, Gülay attended only the finest schools and was the first-born child and the only daughter of three children. She earned her PhD in Quantitative Economics in 1984 from Istanbul Technical University and now she is an economist at the Faculty of Political Sciences of Istanbul University.
A top-ranking army officer, her father believed strongly in the national values established by Turkey’s former founding father and first president Atatürk (Father of the Turks). Gülay’s father wanted his only daughter to have the best education and chances. The door was open for her to experience intellectual freedom and follow her dreams.
The policies and values of Atatürk included, among other things, a secular nation-a break from Islam as the state religion-the building of institutions of education and justice, the emancipation of women and equality for all citizens.
The historical backdrop of Atatürk afforded the women of Turkey with new freedoms and chances. Many Turkish women, since his reign of power that spanned some twenty years, have seized the opportunities that lay open for them to pursue their career goals.
As a consequence of Atatürk’s reforms and policies, the concept of the ‘superwoman’ also emerged. Women were free to follow educational goals, but some traditional roles also remained as an important aspect of Turkish society.
Gülay experienced the ‘superwoman’ syndrome in her own life. Her academic career was flourishing, yet early in her marriage, her parents felt the need to profusely apologize to her husband for their daughter’s strange behavior; she was ‘jet-setting’ the world to academic conferences, leaving her new husband behind to fend for himself.
She believes the Muslim definition for women is rightly put, ‘Education is nice, but women still need to stick to a traditional role.’
Gülay addressed in her lecture, the commitment of the European Commission for gender mainstreaming, which is a topic that is being considered and debated in Turkish politics. She believes, ‘policies imposed from the outside (Europe and America) are concrete,’ and ‘Turkey will listen, but we should handle it together.’
When questioned whether or not Turkey would ever join the EU, Gülay had this to say, ‘The acceptance of Turkey, as one of the members of the European Union, will not come in my lifetime. In an economic sense, it is less problematic for Turkey to join, but the real problem lies in the political differences.’ According to Gülay, ‘Turkey’s politics would have to be radically transformed.’
