Examining the mourning experiences of martyrs' wives in the context of the empowerment approach

The main purpose of this research is to explore the mourning process experiences of women whose husbands were martyred as a result of the fight against terrorism or terrorist acts from the perspective of the empowerment approach. The study aims to understand the strategies for activating internal sources of power by focusing on the emotional, social and identity changes in mourning experiences. By evaluating the mourning experiences of the spouses of martyrs in the context of the empowerment approach, it is aimed to shed light on the difficulties they experience and to support them in making sense of the mourning process with the power they internalize. The participants of the study consist of women living in Ankara Province and whose husbands were martyred in the fight against terrorism or as a result of terrorist acts. During the data collection process, socio-demographic information of the participants was collected and a semi-structured interview form was applied for in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted face-to-face, and the participants were allowed to share their experiences in detail. The data collection process was carried out between 15.11.2023 and 15.05.2024. The research was carried out by conducting in-depth interviews in a qualitative interview format with 17 spouses of martyrs selected by the snowball sampling method, and the phenomenological design was preferred in the research. Informed consent was obtained from the participants to participate in the study. No audio recording was taken from the participants who did not want to be in the spotlight, for security reasons, etc. In addition, notes were taken throughout the interviews and the total of the notes taken from all participants is 75 pages. The data was analyzed using the MAXQDA 24 package program. 3 themes emerged as a result of the data analysis. As a result of the analysis; Three main themes were created under the titles of "Receiving the News of Martyrdom and Initial Reactions", "Experiencing the Mourning Process" and "Coping Strategies and Empowerment Methods". In this context, significant results were found regarding the coping and empowerment strategies of the spouses of martyrs. It was observed that the presence of a child, social support mechanism, spiritual beliefs, and the consoling role of the belief in martyrdom had effects on the mourning process. The most important result of the study is that the spouses of martyrs rediscovered themselves in this process that they helped themselves. The most important result of this study is that as a result of a negative life event; the process of self-discovery was experienced and the spouses of martyrs experienced this process in a way that they realized their strength.