The Rise of Scripted Feminism in Türkiye: The Case of Women Governors

Since 2000, women's leadership as expressed in the role of senior public officials in T & uuml;rkiye has sharply increased. In this conservative and patriarchal society, the appointment of women as governors and district governors has sparked debates about the emergence of official gender equity practices, often associated with Islamist feminism. This study analyses the appointment of women as governors and district governors in the context of such debates and focuses on the pragmatist benefits of scripted feminism for the government. Aside from the question of gender equity, women administrators serve to strengthen the ideological bond between the government and the electorate. The appointment of women as administrators in T & uuml;rkiye reflects the absorption of gender equity into a scripted feminist approach in the service of conservative Islamist policies.