ng her life. This traditional role of the Turkish female is consistent with traditional Islamic cultural norms in which a hierarchical order is maintained in the family through which the dominance of the male over female and older over younger is observed. The family offers security to its members in return for behavior that is harmonious with the cultural code.
As traditional Islamic culture holds that worldly authority is to be invested in the male rather than the female, male children are given more freedom than female children (Vergin, 1985, pp. 571-574). Moreover, within traditional Islamic families, there exists an intergenerational respect and honor, wherein children are expected to show an absolute respect for and obedience to their elders. This expectation is based on the traditional Islamic tenet that honor to parents brings prosperity, success, and happiness. Finally, filial loyalty tends to be stronger than marital loyalty in traditional Islamic culture. Thus, one may expect the husband in a traditionally-oriented Turkish family to view the needs and demands of his father and mother as being of a higher priority than those of his wife.
In contemporary Turkey, young women often identify with Western perceptions of the role of women (Hortascu, Duzen, Arat, & Atahan, 1990, pp. 33-37). When young Turkish women holding such views are members of traditionally-oriented families, it is not uncommon for the level of intrafamily conflict to escalate, and for the family support of such young women to be withdrawn. The withdrawal of family support is particularly devastating to the Turkish female because of the socialization processes in Turkish society. Turkish females are conditioned to be heavily dependent on social reinforcement in the form of approval from family and friends.
For Turkish females generally, the female role is one that is very much proscribed by outside influences such as society and religion (Sta...