From seasonal migration to settled life: Female agricultural workers in Turgutlu, Manisa

This thesis aims to explain how female agricultural workers who migrated seasonally to Manisa's Turgutlu district and subsequently settled there experience the intersections of ethnicity, gender, and poverty during their settlement process. Conducted as a participant observer for 29 days, this research provided an opportunity to present both insider and outsider perspectives, as I am a member of a family that migrated to and settled in this region. The fact that these female agricultural workers are migrants, economically disadvantaged, and from a minority ethnic identity points to their simultaneous exposure to multiple forms of oppresion and Othering. In this context, the problems faced by Kurdish female agricultural workers in the "settlement" process were analysed using an intersectional feminist approach. The research shows that female agricultural workers were subjected to intense ethnic discrimination at the beginning of the settlement process, and this was connected to their socio-economic status and neighborhood selection. As the settlement process extended, these ethnic distinctions did not manifest as overt conflict; however, the silent agreement between the parties indicated a "us-them discrimination". Although some conditions, such as housing, have improved for Kurdish women agricultural workers compared to seasonal work, the hard and insecure conditions of agricultural work have persisted, leading to the devaluation and invisibility of their labor. While female agricultural workers built solidarity against various external pressures, they also used peer pressure on each other during work. This peer pressure is linked to the informal nature of agricultural work. The fact that women work in informal areas such as agriculture is also reflected in the wages they receive in return and the continuity of the work. Another implication of this research is related to domestic labor. Even though women agricultural workers work in jobs for which they are paid, the division of labor at home remains unchanged and thus they are exposed to dual oppression both at home and in the field. This situation triggers women's unwillingness to work as agricultural workers.