Özet:

This study aims to discuss the Justice and Development Party’s approach regarding women’s political representation and its role in women’s representation in the Parliament in Turkey. The main argument in this study is as follows: despite the fact that the JDP adopts a conservative approach concerning gender roles and gender equality and it has a critical attitude towards affirmative action strategies such as quota system, the JDP has a relatively liberal approach regarding women’s political participation and representation. Moreover, from 2002 onward, the JDP has had its significant share in the changing gender profile of the Parliament in a way that favors women’s political representation. Likewise it has contributed to women’s increasing visibility in the representation of the countryside. This article first provides an assessment of the JDP’s political identity and its position in the political spectrum. Then, it goes into its women policy, in general; and its approach concerning women’s active participation in politics and their political representation, in particular. By highlighting the differences between earlier periods as well as the rival political parties of the JDP, this article reveals the similarities and differences between the JDP and other political parties. Lastly, this study also contributes to the existing scholarship on the role of political parties in women’s political representation in Turkey.

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