muslim women in central asia

204 Pages·2013·1.16 MB·English

MUSLIM WOMEN IN CENTRAL ASIA:
THE IMPACT OF SOVIET LEGACY

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

BY

ÖZGE ÖZ

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN
THE PROGRAM OF EURASIAN STUDIES

SEPTEMBER 2013

Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Meliha ALTUNIŞIK
Director

I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of
Master of Science.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar Akçalı
Head of Department

This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully
adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar Akçalı
Supervisor

Examining Committee Members

Prof. Dr. Ayşe Ayata (METU, ADM)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar Akçalı (METU, ADM)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Işık Kuşçu (METU, IR)

I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also
declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and
referenced all material and results that are not original to this work.

Name, Last name : Özge ÖZ

Signature :
iii
ABSTRACT
MUSLIM WOMEN IN CENTRAL ASIA:
THE IMPACT OF SOVIET LEGACY

Öz, Özge
M.Sc., Eurasian Studies
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar Akçalı
September 2013, 191 pages

This thesis analyzes the pre-Soviet, Soviet and post-Soviet Central Asia from a
historical perspective to understand the impact of the Soviet regime on Muslim
women’s lifestyles. It specifically focuses on the underlying reasons of laws and
policies put into effect by the Soviet officials in the name of emancipating Muslim
women in Central Asia. The main argument of the thesis is that even though the
Soviet officials had a genuine intention for the emancipation of Central Asian
women from the patriarchal structure both in the public and private spheres of life,
the policies and their implementation were shaped in accordance with the basic
motive of regime survival. In the first years of the Soviet regime, mostly
ideological intentions shaped the women’s emancipation project. However, in
time, the Soviet officials needed to make more reforms in the political, economic
and socio-cultural areas not just for the ideological aims such as emancipation of
the women, but also for the survival of the Soviet Union. These reforms would be
the main reason of the questioning the real intentions of the Soviet policies in
terms of gender equality. This general attitude would have its impact and
repercussions on gender issues in the post-Soviet era as well.
Keywords: Central Asia, Soviet Union, women’s emancipation
iv
ÖZ
ORTA ASYA'DA MÜSLÜMAN KADINLAR:
SOVYET MİRASININ ETKİSİ
Öz, Özge
Yüksek Lisans, Avrasya Çalışmaları
Tez Danışmanı: Doç. Dr. Pınar Akçalı
Eylül 2013, 191 sayfa
Bu tez Sovyet öncesi, Sovyet ve Sovyet sonrası dönemlerini, Sovyet rejiminin
Orta Asya Müslüman kadınlarının yaşam tarzı üzerine olan etkisini anlamak
amacı ile tarihsel bir açıdan analiz etmektedir. Çalışmada özellikle Orta Asya’daki
Müslüman kadınları özgürleştirmek adına Sovyet yetkilileri tarafından
gerçekleştirilen yasalar ve politikaların altında yatan nedenler üzerinde
durulmuştur. Tezin temel argümanı, Sovyet yetkililerinin Orta Asya’daki kadınları
hem kamusal hem de özel alanda ataerkil yapıdan kurtarmak konusunda içten
olmalarına rağmen, zaman içerisinde kadının özgürleştirilmesine yönelik
politikalar ve uygulamaların rejimin hayatta kalması için gerekenler
doğrultusunda şekillendiğidir. Sovyet rejiminin ilk yıllarında, kadınların
özgürleşmesi projesi çoğunlukla ideolojik kaygılarla belirlendi. Fakat zaman
içerisinde Sovyet yetkilileri sadece kadınların özgürleştirilmesi gibi ideolojik
amaçlarla değil aynı zamanda Sovyetler Birliği’nin varlığını sürdürebilmesi için
de siyasi, ekonomik ve sosyo-kültürel alanda daha fazla reform yapmaya ihtiyaç
duydular. Bu reformlar Sovyet politikalarının cinsiyet eşitliği konusundaki gerçek
niyetlerin sorgulanmasına temel olmuştur. Sovyet sonrası dönemde de bu genel
tutumun toplumsal cinsiyet ile ilgili konulara etkisi ve yansımaları olmuştur.
Anahtar kelimeler: Orta Asya, Sovyetler Birliği, kadının özgürleşmesi
v
To My Family

vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost I would like to express my deepest gratitude and thanks to my
supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar Akçalı. Her contributions to both my academic
career and my life are invaluable. She has supported and guided me from the very
beginning of the programme. She is always very nice, helpful and has positive
attitude towards me. She has also supported me throughout my thesis with her
patience and knowledge whilst allowing me space to work in my own way.
I also sincerely thank the members of the examining committee, Prof. Dr. Ayşe
Ayata and Assist. Prof. Dr. Işık Kuşçu for their time and suggestions.
I am thankful to Atatürk Kültür, Dil ve Tarih Kurumu and Türk Tarih Kurumu for
financially supporting me during my graduate studies. Thanks to that support, I
found an opportunity to focus on my study without having any financial problems.
I am grateful to Gökten Doğangün, Research Assistant at the Center for Black Sea
and Central Asia, METU, for guiding me to create the theoretical framework of
the thesis and helping me to shape the outline of this work.
I am greatly thankful to Burcu Tokatlı, Fulya Koyuncu and Özge Altun for being
there for me when I needed. Their criticisms on the process of writing this thesis
forced me to take a step forward from where I was. It is a privilege for me having
them in my life.
I extend my special thanks to Sezin Şentürk for her endless support. I cannot
imagine my academic and personal life without her. I appreciate every single
thing and every glimpse of time we share together.
I cannot express enough how I’m thankful and grateful to my parents and my
sister, Nazlı. I thank them to support the every single decision I took in my life
and to bear me when I was nervous in the process of writing this thesis. I feel their
vii
love and support every single moment of my life. Their contribution to my life
inexplicable.
I am deeply grateful to my husband, Alper. Your touch to my academic and
personal life are invaluable. In every step that I took, I know that you will be with
me and that strengths me in so many ways. You brought me calmness,
compassion and peace that I needed for many years. I cannot wait to spend my life
with you.

viii