Early marriages in terms of gender roles: Antalya province Woman's Shelter example

While the concept of biological gender underlines the biological differences between men and women, the concept of gender comprises social differences between these two sexualities. Gender debates on the roles and positions taught to men and women by the social structure analyze the different behaviors and practices that individuals face because they are men and women. Such practices, which depend on time and society, have many reflections on daily life. Gender-based discrimination is one of the ways seen in community life, in which patriarchal structure prevails in almost all societies throughout the world. It is known that sexist practices of different types and forms continue to exist intensively, particularly violence against women. In this study, the issue of early marriage of girls, one of the types of gender discrimination, is examined. The study will firstly analyze the issue of gender in different aspects, focus on marriage, family concepts and Turkish family structure, dwell on violence and domestic violence against women as a reflection of gender discrimination, and then discuss the problem of child bride. To specify this study, relevant statistical information was given and the causes and consequences of child marriage were mentioned. This study, which aims to provide a general framework for the problem of marrying girls, targets to explore the connections between the patriarchal community order and the early marriages on the basis of the experiences of women who have married early, and it was conducted for women staying in the women's guesthouses in the central districts of Antalya.