Resumen de Keeping hope in the Neverland through resistance and struggle: the Saturday mothers
- español
La tesis trata sobre la lucha de las Madres del Sábado de Turquía. Han estado pidiendo conocer el paradero de sus hijos e hijas que fueron ‘desaparecidos’ por la fuerza en Turquía. Han estado luchando contra las desapariciones forzadas y la impunidad en la calle más concurrida de Estambul, Turquía, desde 1995, todos los sábados a las 12:00 h., exigiendo justicia y verdad. Hay tres objetivos principales de la tesis que son (1) crear conciencia, definiendo la importancia de las Madres del Sábado en el mundo, en los movimientos por la paz de las mujeres, (2) contribuir a las exigencias de las Madres del Sábado en su lucha, definiendo los términos y conceptos clave en el campo de los derechos humanos y las violaciones de los derechos humanos, y (3) enfatizar la presencia de las Madres del Sábado dentro de la ética científica y la dignidad humana. La tesis se centra en la cuestión de cómo las Madres del Sábado crean la realidad social ontológicamente en la esfera pública. Examina (1) cómo transforman la maternidad en su lucha a través de la memoria, la verdad, el duelo, la política de la emoción, la insistencia y la resistencia y cómo recrean el concepto de maternidad; (2) cómo las Madres del Sábado son interpretadas por varias herramientas de los medios de comunicación; (3) cómo la lucha de las Madres del Sábado es interpretada por las Activistas que apoyan a las Madres del Sábado; (4) cómo la lucha de las Madres del Sábado es interpretada por los miembros del grupo de las Madres del Sábado. Dentro de estos objetivos y preguntas de investigación, se utilizan el método feminista cualitativo y el método de análisis narrativo crítico a través de diversos análisis documentales y entrevistas semiestructuradas a 38 personas. Se concluye que la lucha de las Madres del Sábado transformó el concepto de maternidad en la esfera pública al redefinir términos como memoria, verdad, duelo, insistencia y resistencia a través de una política de emoción. Esto resulta en la creación de sí mismas y las desapariciones forzadas en la Plaza Galatasaray, donde se han reunido desde 1995, que es donde pueden continuar existiendo ontológicamente con sus seres queridos perdidos.
- English
The Saturday Mothers’ voice not to spread internationally and widely-known by the international academic circles which may create a disadvantage for the movement.
The main differences between my research and the previous studies are as follows: • The inclusion of all the subjects in every single part of the research through a gender dimension: All the participants actively participated, gave feedback, and shaped the research no matter their educational background is.
• One of the aims is to spread the Saturday Mothers’ word in academic context: I gave presentations about the Saturday Mothers and their demands in Ukraine (2015) and Iceland (2022). I published an article in English in one of the most popular news sites, Bianet, in Turkey about the mothers (2022). I gave a presentation at an international conference held by TİHV and the paper has been published (2021). I contacted an international organisation (ICSC) working on the human rights violations and held a meeting on how the Saturday Mothers can be included in the NGO to be able to spread their word and briefed to the Human Rights Associations, Istanbul Branch (2022).
• I took part in the human rights organizations such as in Amnesty Turkey and became an activist and took several international courses on human rights to be able to understand the struggle better.
• I triangulated the findings. Through document analysis, activists, and the mothers, I gathered various and diverse sources to analyse and cross-check.
• I took part in a human rights project for a year held by TİHV. All the professors were the ones studying in the human rights field. I took feedback from most of them. In addition, I got research ethics committee approval from the TİHV Academy board.
• One of my supervisors Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı is one of the most acclaimed human rights activists in Turkey who supported and gave me feedback all the time and constructed a bridge between the mothers and me. My supervisor Dr. Elizabeth Russell has always made my way on the track scientific. As a gender studies expert, she consulted me in every single word and the appropriateness of the thesis.
• Dr. Güldem Özyatağan accepted to be my mentor for one year, her feedback contributed to the validity and reliability of the data gathering tools.
• The conclusion suggests new definitions for several terms frequently used in the field of social sciences and human rights.
• Most importantly, this is not just a study but a document of collective memory against forgetting the truth, structured by all the people involved in the study. Not my research but OURs.
There are three main aims of the thesis: 1. To be able to raise awareness by defining where the Saturday Mothers stand in the world women’s peace movement.
2. To be able to contribute towards the claims of the Saturday Mothers in their struggle by defining the key terms and concepts in the field of human rights and human rights violations.
3. To be able to stress the presence of the Saturday Mothers within scientific ethics and human dignity. Unfortunately, there is very little valid and reliable research in literature.
The research question: How do The Saturday Mothers create social reality ontologically in the public sphere? The sub-research questions: 1. Do they transform motherhood in their struggle through memory, truth, mourning, politics of emotion, insistence, and resistance? If so, then how? If not, how do they recreate the concept of motherhood? 2. How are the Saturday Mothers interpreted by various media tools (documentaries, songs, plays, movies, series, cartoons, arts, news, books, videos, newspapers, reports, magazines, etc.)? 3. How is The Saturday Mothers struggle interpreted by the Saturday Mothers activists (intellectuals, lawyers, journalists, etc., who are not relatives of the forcibly disappeared)? 4. How is the Saturday Mothers struggle interpreted by the members of the Saturday Mothers’ group (mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, brothers, fathers, and so on of the enforced disappearances)? The rationale behind why I preferred to do qualitative research is to find meaning, learn, and gain a deeper understanding in both my own life and my field of research by following Halcolm’s law of induction, Patton’s fictional character in his qualitative research books, and by personally sharing new experiences which would undoubtedly give me new social, political, and emotional insights. Qualitative methods are research methods which mean that the aim is to examine what people “do, know, think, and feel by observing, interviewing, and analysing documents” (Patton, p.145). “People in knowledge-intensive societies . . . prefer ‘better’ to ‘more’” (Cleveland, 1989, p. 157) which is also essential for qualitative research.
The present research is an attempt to blend two main types of research: basic research and applied research. Patton believes that “basic [means] to contribute to fundamental knowledge and theory” (which in this case would be in women’s peace studies). Also, applied because it aims to “illuminate a societal concern” (p. 213) in being directly related to human rights. I have used both sources of questions in our research which makes it blended. How The Saturday Mothers’ struggle can be known and explained as well as how the issues related to them are understood and solved with knowledge and emotions are the main assumptions of basic research and applied research, respectively.
This research uses two kinds of qualitative data: interviews and documents. I organized the raw data into narrative descriptions with themes and categories through content analysis to find patterns, understandings, and insights. Therefore, I used the “being-for” perspective during the research defined by Clark Moustakas, which is based on listening, being for and with the subject. Taking care never to minimize, deprecate, or deny a person’s rights or emotions. As Moustakas points out, the interviewer has to become an advocate of the person “with reference to his or her frustrations and problems in dealing with others” (Moustakas, 1995, p. 83).
- català
La tesi tracta sobre la lluita de les Mares dels Dissabtes a Turquia. Han estat demanant on paren els seus fills i filles, que van ‘desaparèixer forçadament’ a Turquia. Han estat lluitant contra les desaparicions forçades i la impunitat al carrer més concorregut d'Istanbul, Turquia, des de 1995, tots els dissabtes a les 12:00 h., exigint justícia i veritat. Hi ha tres objectius principals de la tesi que són (1) prendre consciència d’on es troben les Mares dels Dissabtes al món, i en els moviments per la pau de les dones, (2) contribuir a les reivindicacions de les Mares dels Dissabtes en la seva lluita definint els termes i conceptes clau en l'àmbit dels drets humans i les violacions dels drets humans i (3) destacar la presència de les Mares dels Dissabtes dins de l'ètica científica i la dignitat humana. La tesi se centra en la qüestió de com les Mares dels Dissabtes creen la realitat social ontològicament en l'esfera pública. Examina (1) com transformen la maternitat en la seva lluita a través de la memòria, la veritat, el dol, la política de l'emoció, la insistència i la resistència i com recreen el concepte de maternitat; (2) com les Mares dels Dissabtes són interpretades per diverses eines de les mitjans de comunicació; (3) com la lluita de les mares dels dissabtes és interpretada per les activistes que donen suport a les mares dels dissabtes; (4) com la lluita de les Mares dels Dissabtes és interpretada pels membres del mateix grup de Mares dels Dissabtes. Dins d'aquests objectius i preguntes de recerca, s'utilitza el mètode feminista qualitatiu i el mètode d'anàlisi narrativa crítica a través de diverses anàlisis de documents i entrevistes semiestructurades a 38 persones. Es conclou que la lluita de les Mares dels Dissabtes va transformar el concepte de maternitat en l'esfera pública, redefinint termes com memòria, veritat, dol, insistència i resistència a través d'una política d'emoció. Això es tradueix en la creació de les seves pròpies desaparicions i les desaparicions forçades a la plaça de Galatasaray, on es reuneixen des de 1995, que és on poden continuar existint ontològicament amb els seus éssers estimats perduts.
