Gender role perceptions of the 17th term member of parliaments' wives

In the pursuit of male-dominated gender roles identified by the dominant culture, women can be adversely affected both in the private and public spheres. In patriarchal societies, the fact that a woman is married, especially to a man of high status, is expected to make her stronger than other women. However, in accordance with the common interests of the family, it is inevitable for women to make many concessions in order to maintain male power. The nature and extent of these concessions vary according to the woman's family structure, educational status, working life, economic situation and her own attitude and perception. The aim of this study is to evaluate the secondary positions of politicians' wives in the public and private spheres from a gender perspective. In addition, the attitudes and perceptions of the politicians' wives are examined and the advantages and disadvantages of being a politician's wife are discussed. In this respect, firstly, the secondary role which is given to women in private and public spheres is explained with the concepts of gender, patriarchy and status. Then, a total of 12 women -six women with a work-life, six women without a work-life- is interviewed by using in-depth interview technique. The findings were evaluated within the framework of feminist theory. The results does not only show that gender and patriarchal understanding negatively affect women's life both in private and public sphere but also being a politician's wife can lead to different grievances. Keywords: Woman, Politicians' Wives, Gender, Status.