İyi anneler ve bilge siyasetçiler? Türkiye ve Japonya'da kadınların ulusal düzeyde formel siyasete katılımı

In this study I examine why women?s formal political participation to national political institutions has been similarly low in Turkey and Japan. Although these two countries may seem irrelevant cases in terms of their economic and social attributes, a closer look at the gendering of the national context in these countries uncovers striking similarities regarding women?s inclusion to the public sphere visible. I argue that the most consequential similarity between the two countries in this regard has been the definition of ?who? can participate in politics, and ?how? participation should be carried out, both definitions taking a male individual as point of reference in the two countries. Citizenship in both countries is highly gendered, the distinction between female and male citizenships being reproduced through disciplinary processes within the juridical system, education, social security, labor-market, and practices of national defense in both countries. Within such a context, I argue women in Turkey and Japan are usually unable to invest in social capital gathering within predominantly male political communities, which limits their recognition and access to formal political institutions. I furthermore ask what happens after women participate in formal politics, how women parliamentarians construct their agencies, and how they experience formal politics in Turkey. Relying upon the interviews I conducted with thirteen female parliamentarians in Turkey and World Values Survey conducted in Japan and Turkey, I find that active promotion of gendered citizenships become as significant as resources in enabling/disabling women?s formal political participation.