Getting Involved: Volunteering in Oppositional NGOs in Turkey

• In Event: Gender Equality, Women's Rights, and Engaging the State

Abstract

This study found that volunteering in an “oppositional NGO” in neoliberal conservative Turkey, can be a risky endeavor. Through interviews with 15 volunteers (3 men, 12 women) and a discourse analysis of Turkish civic duty policies and international human rights declarations, this study argues volunteering and being a member in an oppositional NGO has political and social consequences such as stigmatization, objectification, and alienation in Turkey. This study also adds a gender dimension to studies done on volunteering, civic culture, and NGOs in Turkey.

Presenter

• Asli Aygunes, Sabanci University