State Ideologies, State-led Gender Policies and the Role of Zhenotdel in the Soviet Society Experiences of the 1930s

Year 2023, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 106 - 116, 30.12.2023

Gökhan Sırmalı , Muharrem Doğan

https://doi.org/10.61158/saukad.1322565

Abstract

This study discusses gender equality appearances in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the time period between 1928 when the first five-year plan was implemented and the end of the 1930s. Investigating to what extent gender equality goals were achieved in the Soviet society gives us the relationship between gender perspectives and ideology, state-led policies, and women’s and men’s experiences in the stated period. The Zhenotdel, the women’s department of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party, is one of the most crucial institutions to conduct state-led gender policies in the USSR. The study, therefore, starts with the Zhenotdel’s gender policies and further investigates the Zhensektor, a woman section of the Party. The aims of both institutions are not only women’s issues but also matters concentrated on state-led policies and ideologies in the Soviet society. However, Stalin’s declaration of “Socialism in One Country” brought harsh masculine policies and a state-led ideology prioritized that women’s emancipation and gender equality. Therefore, in that period, gender equality in Soviet society could not be achieved.

Keywords

USSR, Gender Equality, Zhenotdel, State Ideology, State-led Policies.

Devlet İdeolojileri, Devlet Güdümlü Toplumsal Cinsiyet Politikaları ve Sovyet Toplumunda Zhenotdel'in Rolü: 1930'ların Deneyimi

Abstract

Bu çalışma, ilk beş yıllık planın uygulandığı tarih olan 1928'den 1930'ların sonuna kadar Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyetler Birliği'ndeki (SSCB) toplumsal cinsiyet eşitliği görünümlerini ele almaktadır. Sovyet toplumunda toplumsal cinsiyet eşitliği hedeflerine ne ölçüde ulaşıldığını ele almak, belirtilen dönemde toplumsal cinsiyet perspektifleri ile devlet ideolojisi, devlet güdümlü politikalar ile kadın ve erkek deneyimleri arasındaki ilişkiyi ortaya koymaktadır. Komünist Parti Merkez Komitesi Sekreterliği'nin kadın birimi olan Zhenotdel, SSCB'deki devlet güdümlü toplumsal cinsiyet politikalarını yürüten o dönemki en önemli kurumlardan biriydi. Bu nedenle çalışma, Zhenotdel'in toplumsal cinsiyet politikalarıyla başlayıp; daha sonra Parti'nin kadın kolu olarak kurulan Zhensektor’la devam etmektedir. Her iki kurumun amacı da yalnızca Sovyet toplumundaki kadın sorunlarını ele almak değil, aynı zamanda Sovyet toplumundaki devlet güdümlü politikaları ve ideolojileri sürdürmektir. Ancak, Stalin'in “Tek Ülkede Sosyalizm” beyannamesi, maskülen politikaları beraberinde getirmiş ve devletçi ideoloji, kadınların özgürleşmesini ve toplumsal cinsiyet eşitliğinin sağlanmasını öncelemiştir. Bundan dolayı bahsi geçen yıllarda Sovyet toplumunda toplumsal cinsiyet eşitliği istenildiği şekliyle hayata geçirilememiştir.

Keywords

SSCB, Toplumsal Cinsiyet Eşitliği, Zhenotdel, Devlet İdeolojisi, Devlet Güdümlü Politikalar

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