A sociological research on relationship between women and politics AKP and CHP woman branches in Bursa

Concepts of human rights, democracy and equality appear to be the rights acquired by men through the course of history. One of the areas where the unequal social relationships between men and women have been the case is the lack of political representation. Women have struggled to obtain equal rights in politics both at the local and global level. Nevertheless, the gained political rights cannot be used equally even in the most developed countries. Gender stereotypes and the patriarchal viewpoints legalized within the social structures and these have precluded women from using their so called political rights effectively. Woman branches, which have been set up by political parties in Turkey against the inadequate representation of women in the parliament, aim to promote the representation of women in political life. However, insufficient participation of women in decision making processes and thus the lack of representation in politics are still one of the most important problems for women in Turkey. Therefore, this thesis aimed at looking into ways views of woman who are involved in the activities of political branches of two leading parties in Turkey; Justice and Development Party (AKP) and The Republican People?s Party (CHP). For this objective, AKP and CHP? woman branches in Bursa have been studied in order to shed light on the inadequate representation of women within the framework of women?s role in Turkish politics. The research found out that; woman branches have found it very difficult to eliminate the inadequate representation of women in politics and largely failed to convert the position of women in political life in men dominated political structure.Keywords: Women, Woman Branches, Politics, Gender, Bursa