Mevsimlik Tarım İşçisi Kadınların Annelik Deneyimleri: Şanlıurfa, Cihanbeyli ve Çarşamba Örneğinde Bir Panel Araştırması

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to find out the motherhood experiences of women who are seasonal agricultural workers and contribute to the production of services for meeting mothers’ needs. Within the framework of this general purpose, the feminist method was used, and in-depth interviews were carried out, through panel research, with 12 women from Şanlıurfa with different characteristics such as age, marital status, ethnic origin, children’s age, and status of having or not having a disabled child in Cihanbeyli (Konya) and Çarşamba (Samsun) and Şanlıurfa. In addition to such 27 interviews, 32 people from different fields offering service in Şanlıurfa, Cihanbeyli, and Çarşamba that came out of the women’s narratives were interviewed. The data obtained were subjected to thematic analysis via MAXQDA 12.2.The analysis results indicated that the females have internalized their gender roles and are deprived of cultural, social, and economic capital. Giving birth to a child is a obligation and existence for women as motherhood is considered to be strengthening the status of the woman and the family in the classical patriarchal system. The problem of poverty experienced by women affects their motherhood practices as well. The abundance of children in families, working in seasonal jobs as of childhood, leaving the school early or not attending any school, early marriage, and so on imply that the motherhood of women who are seasonal agricultural workers is different from the ideology of motherhood that is dominant in the neoliberal discourse involving “committing oneself to the child”, “protecting and controlling her/him”, and “paying attention to his/her education”. Motherhood experienced by the interviewed women mainly in association with poverty is seen to be corresponding to the social policies built upon the discourse of “more than one child”.The individuals offering various services interviewed in the study evaluated the workers’ motherhood in terms of upper/middle-class motherhood practices, and stated that the women do not reflect on motherhood as they even fail to meet their own needs. Finally, it was recommended to meet women’s needs, raise awareness of gender, and develop social policies. In suggestions, it was underlined that strengthening the women must be the main goal.