Feminist Politics against Letting Kill: Anti-Feminicide Activism as Non-Reformist Reform

• In Event: Gender, Sexuality, and Resistance

Abstract

This paper focuses on feminist mobilization against feminicide in Turkey. It explores the implications of a major characteristic of anti-feminicide organizing, holding the state accountable and making political demands from it. I ask: if the state is responsible for feminicide, does it make sense to center the resistance around it? Based on extensive interviews with feminist lawyers and activists, my answer is ultimately “yes…and.” I demonstrate that the experience of the women’s movement in Turkey complicates and enriches our contemporary feminist moment, which is characterized by a call for turning away from state-centric activism. In the Turkish context, a political demand directed at the state does not necessarily equate to asking for a slice of the rotten pie. Nor does requesting that the state fulfill its constitutional responsibilities necessarily position the state as the legitimate savior of women. The anti-feminicide struggle in Turkey embraces an approach that seeks structural change while also demanding reforms and taking action for immediate improvements. It reminds us that the state and the law should be engaged with a level of self-reflexivity that recognizes the potential problems with this approach (e.g., cooptation). For these reasons, I propose that political demands from the state to eliminate feminicide should be understood as “non-reformist reforms.” They are posed with an attitude of radical ingratitude—an expression of feminist politics of refusal to be thankful for the bare minimum.

Author

• Sumru Atuk, Ithaca College