The new combat against poverty of women: "Karınca Trade" (A sample of the entry point in Habur, Turkey)

Poverty refers to the condition in which an individual cannot even afford to fundamental needs. Poverty has a multiple structure and it's still a global phenomenon and an actual problem for all countries on the world. Although poverty is something that all individuals in any society might be exposed to in time, women are mostly affected from the case and more disadvantageous. In a wide-scale, poverty of women comprises unemployment, social exclusion, uneven access to education and health, and lack of social protection. Poverty has been a case of concern and become more common in Turkey and in all countries all over the world. The objective of the study is women who work to overcome poverty through "Karınca Trade". Karınca trade is a kind of trade by which individuals work for themselves or a company and they go outside of the country border and run commercial activities. This kind of border trade is also called as "Suitcase Trading" or "Shuttle Trade". The study method is depth interview which includes semi-structured interviews with 25 women that run karınca trade at the entry point in Habur, Turkey. This study aims to find out the working conditions of women into karınca trade and social, economic and cultural factors that direct these women to this kind of trade. The risks and dangers that these women undergo while conducting their commercial activities and how their commercial activities affect their social and personal lives have also been revealed in the study. The findings of the study show that the women in the study need to run karınca trade due to their economic challenges. Moreover, it was also observed that insufficient education of these women prevents them from being employed in jobs offering regular income and social insurance. In addition to this, the karınca trade also affected these women due to bad working conditions, long working hours and physical demanding. Keywords: Poverty, Poverty of Women, The Entry Point in Habur, Turkey, Karınca Trade, Karınca Trading