ABSTRACT
Turkey experienced an unprecedented failed coup attempt on the night of 15 July 2016. The coup was halted by citizens who took to the streets to resist against the putschists. There was an overwhelming participation of young women, particularly from conservative backgrounds, and these women’s political capability of establishing their visibility in the public sphere and participating in protests was both spontaneous and extraordinary. Therefore, this research looks into the motivation of these women, their enactment of agency and presents their stories of taking to the streets—where some of them were shot and injured—through 26 narratives. Their narratives show that the women were driven by the call of the president, feelings of patriotism, Islam, homeland and martyrdom. The analysis shows how these factors intersect in triggering women’s collective action and capabilities, and the possibilities of an enactment of the political capability of conservative women, who have started to establish their visibility in the public arena in Turkey over the last 20 years.
Keywords: Turkey, gender, politics, religion, capabilities
