Women's Education and Labor in Turkey and Iran Compared

Introduction: Two Paths Toward Modernization

The Republic of Turkey occupies an area of 780,580 sq km with a total population of almost 72 million people (CIA World Factbook). The Republic of Turkey was founded under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal — later called Atatürk, meaning "father of Turkey" — in 1923. The new republic inherited parts of the former Ottoman Empire. The new leaders, guided by Atatürk, prepared and implemented a set of reforms that set Turkey irreversibly on the path toward modernization. All sectors of society underwent tremendous changes as a result of these reforms. Although the country was not free of military coups, none of them succeeded in reversing its course toward modernity. Gender roles suffered dramatic changes, especially in the rapidly growing urban areas, while traditional gender roles in rural parts of the country remained essentially the same.

One of the most important reforms Atatürk's government put in place was the overhaul of the educational system. His words on the importance of this field were: "Our most important duty is to win a victory in the field of education." The 10% of the population that was literate before the proclamation of the Republic increased rapidly, with male and female students alike being offered a public school system. Primary education became compulsory and financed by the state.

Modern industry and the service sector are two main sources of income for Turkey, alongside agriculture, which still holds an important role in Turkey's GDP at approximately 35% (CIA World Factbook). The Labor Force Participation Rates (LFPR) of both women and men dropped in 1990 compared to the 1950s. Economic indicators show that structural economic change is the main driver of this decrease. The transition from an economy that relied heavily on the agricultural sector — where most women were employed — to one based on industry and services led to increased migration of the rural population toward more profitable activities in urban areas (Acar & Ayata, 2000).

To a certain extent, the evolution of women's labor force participation in Turkey after 1923 bore similarities to that of women in Iran after Reza Shah came to power and established the Pahlavi dynasty. The differences lie in the role that the traditional middle class in each country played. The Shia majority in Iran was considerably more conservative and consistent in expressing its views on women's roles over the decades between the rise of Reza Shah and the revolution in 1979 than the Sunni majority in Turkey.

While Iran was isolated from the western world during the 1980s, globalization made its way into Turkey with little opposition. Turkey, among other countries, became a significant source of cheap labor for more affluent partners in the western world. "Many of these sweaters and other clothing items in Europe and the United States were imported from Turkey, where they were produced primarily by women and children within a system of piecework labor and in small family ateliers that straddle the line between the formal and informal economies" (White, 2004).

Women's Education and Labor in Turkey

In the present day, education is, according to the law, available to everyone in Turkey regardless of gender, race, or religion. Theoretically, under equal circumstances, women have the same chances as their male counterparts in obtaining a school degree. According to the results of the 1990 Census, only 5.2% of the labor force held a higher education degree, 9.7% had a high-school diploma, and 7% had a junior high-school diploma. The remaining 78.1% consisted of primary school graduates or individuals with lower levels of education (UNESCO).

Atatürk was firm in affirming his belief that a free, democratic, and viable society must be built on gender equality. Unlike Khomeini, he understood not only the importance of women in extreme circumstances such as revolutionary times, but also their crucial contribution to society as a whole, at all times. A successful reform in education, in any country, leads naturally to efforts to create meaningful opportunities for all levels of the population.

Comparative data shows a tremendous increase in female literacy between 1935 and 2000. In 1935, the literacy rate of Turkish women was just 9.8%, with a corresponding illiteracy rate of 90.2%. By 2000, the literacy rate of Turkish women had risen to 80.6% while the illiteracy rate had dropped to 19.4% (Gelisli, 2004). In 2000, 85.5% of Turkish women had completed eight years of primary school, 35.2% had completed high school, and 10.5% had completed education beyond high school. While these figures show that Turkish women are continually and steadily increasing their levels of education, the gap between rural and urban lifestyles and its effects on women remains significant. Many girls living in the countryside are not even permitted to attend primary school, and the quality of the educational system differs greatly from city to village (Gelisli, 2004).

Among women over the age of 12, although the total number employed in the agricultural sector has decreased considerably compared to the 1970s, an overwhelming number of women are still working in this sector (Gelisli, 2004). Despite resistance from certain cultural quarters regarding women's career choices, their presence in the vocational sector of the workforce is steadily and constantly increasing. The rate of educated women lacking employment in cities is nearly as high as that of their male counterparts. Women also face the additional responsibilities of childbearing and childcare as factors that may prevent them from maintaining steady employment in positions for which they are qualified.

Cultural and Family Barriers to Women's Advancement in Turkey

Complex family traditions and culture also play an important role in educational choices for young women in large cities such as Istanbul and Ankara. Small businesses such as family workshops rely almost exclusively on the labor provided by family members, women included. Families that were located in rural areas a generation ago continue to function under the old patriarchal rules, even as they have changed in outward appearance. Once women marry, their labor passes along with them to their husband's family. "The first things young girls in the squatter districts learn, then, are the labor skills through which they will express and maintain their personal and social identity as daughters, wives, and mothers" (White, 2004).

The old concept of childbearing as a means of securing support in old age is still widely valued among Turkish women. Çiğdem Kağıtçıbaşı conducted a national-level study in Turkey in the mid-1970s showing that 77% of Turkish women considered their children a form of old-age security (Kağıtçıbaşı, 2002). The values of the traditional family persisted well into the second half of the twentieth century, even in more modern urbanized areas.

The small family atelier — a workshop straddling the formal and informal economies — is characteristic of Turkey's urban periphery. Women in these settings seldom receive wages as independent earners; instead, their labor is folded into household production and goes largely uncounted in official labor statistics. This structural invisibility reinforces gender inequality even when women are, in practice, economically active.

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