Week 11: Cynthia Enloe and Dicle Kogacioglu

Both authors for this week, Cynthia Enloe and Dicle Kogacioglu, discuss the role of institutions in perpetuating gender disparity and oppression in the Middle East- Enloe looks specifically at Afghanistan and Iraq, while Kogacioglu looks at Turkey.

Enloe's article "Upholding the Gender Empire" looks at the harmful effects military institutions have on women in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the United States's mission to develop into an empire, they must develop relationships with local military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq- relationships, Enloe argues, that turn a blind eye to the patriarchal ideologies and abuses the local forces implement, and instead are forged on a connection between men for their participation in the masculinity of combat. This blind eye occurs because for the US, women are not actively seen and therefore are not considered in the policies or actions of allied military forces. Enloe argues that to the contrary, all women are consistently affected and influenced by the actions of military forces- not just women involved in government, but women who participate in domains seen as unpolitical (such as beauty parlors). Enloe discusses how crucial it is to consider as well as question the position of women in a society affected by military. The US fails to do this when it forms alliances with local forces that do not exhibit an interest in empowering women; consequentially, women's rights are not considered pressing issues, and toxic masculinity will only be perpetuated.

Kogacioglu writes "Framing Honor Crimes in Turkey" on the practice of honor killings in Turkey (defined as "the murder of a woman by members of her family who do not approve of her sexual behavior" (Kogacioglu 118)), and the dangerous effects of attributing this practice solely to tradition. While dominant understandings of honor killings are quick to blame them on the prevalence of tradition, Kogacioglu recognizes that honor killings are conducted from a number of factors, particularly, Turkish government institutions that portray themselves as modern and Westernized. Like Enloe, Kogacioglu critiques institutions that allow for a perpetuation of patriarchal power; in this case, institutions like the law allow for loopholes around punishment of honor killings (where victims are women) but crack down on another "tradition-based" crime, blood feuds (where victims are men). Such a double standard on these crimes, which have both been perpetuated through history, demonstrates a prioritization of men's rights above women's rights and a clear instance of patriarchal abuse of power. Honor killings are also de-prioritized when it comes to Turkey's admittance to the EU- an institute which, Kogacioglu argues, is primarily concerned with the economic benefits of admitting a nation and secondarily with the human rights violation of honor killings. The EU is thus another institution that does not demonstrate active concern for women's rights and as a result, is complicit in the perpetuation of honor crimes.

Institutions play a crucial role in the treatment of women in societies all over the world, even when they are passive about women's rights. So when institutions like the military or the law place women's rights underneath other issues (such as regime control or the market), they become complicit in violations of those rights. Based on these readings, it is crucial to ask- what does it take for institutions to shift their focus onto women, and how can this be accomplished in areas where patriarchal interpretations of Islam dominate?