Reflections on the Split Identity of Women in Turkey Over Century

Abstract

Abstract This paper proposes to explain the split of female identity in Turkey in terms of veiled/non-veiled, by attributing it to the exclusion of female founding figures during the instauration phase of the Republic. Introducing the psychoanalytic aspect overlooked in relevant sociological studies, it argues that we can refer to “Republican Girls/Daughters” rather than “Republican Women” and tries to disclose the possible dynamics underlying the split character of female identity in Turkey. As a sample case, it refers to experiences narrated by the novelist Halide Edib, who is also a political figure. The purpose is to demonstrate that the confusion of generations results in the denial of the female figures and leads women on a social level to conflicting dynamics similar to mother-daughter relationship dynamics.