Women and Cultural Citizenship in Turkey : Mass Media and ‘Woman’s Voice’ Television

In 2005, a Turkish woman was shot dead by her son in honour killing for appearing on a popular women's talk show on television. Looking at popular women's talk shows, this title explores the way in which groups with political power control public discourse and public sphere in Turkey and how urban/rural and Islamist/secular oppositions play out.

In 2005, a Turkish woman was shot dead by her son in an ''honour killing'' for appearing on a popular women''s talk show on television. The show invited ordinary women from lower socio-economic classes to speak of their experiences of family life: marriage, divorce, child custody rights and relations with in-laws. Here, Solen Sanli examines the diversification of mass media in Turkey following liberalization in the 1980s. Specifically looking at popular women''s talk shows ("Woman''s Voice" Television), she explores the way in which groups with political and cultural power control public discourse and the public sphere in Turkey, and how urban/rural and Islamist/secular oppositions play out. Sanli traces the development of mass media in Turkey, particularly television, and closely examining how narrations of violence against women are presented. "Women and Cultural Citizenship in Turkey" contains rigorous, topical and original insights relevant for a range of disciplines, such as Anthropology, Gender and Communication Studies, as well as those researching cultural and political participation in the Middle East.