Empowerment Perspectives and Practices of Refugee-Related NGOs in Turkey: Family, Protection, or Solidarity?

Abstract

Abstract Due to the ongoing conflict in Syria and all that it signifies, the number of women refugees is seeing a rapid upturn, and this has led to a rise in the number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Turkey providing support to this specific segment of society. Most of the studies carried out in the field recently focus on the status of Syrian women in Turkey and the impacts migration has had on them, while the perspectives of NGOs on the empowerment of women has been, on the whole, understudied. Based on the data collected from representatives of NGOs this study aims to fill this gap by analysing the approaches and practices of NGOs to the empowerment of refugee women. The results clearly indicate that the approach of NGOs to the empowerment of women differ depending on their type, being either family-oriented, protection-based, or women solidarity-focused. It was further found that the women solidarity-focused approach has a potential to pave the way for social empowerment with the ability to challenge gender inequality.