Gendered property and labour relations in agriculture: implications for social change in Turkey

Abstract

By investigating the implications of gendered property and labour relations in agriculture for socio-economic transformation, this article extends development theories and contributes to feminist analysis of unpaid family labour. Drawing on the case of Turkey, it demonstrates that gendered patterns of agriculture limit women’s mobility, access to education, and paid employment in non-agricultural sectors. Using the qualitative and quantitative methods, the paper finds that patriarchal property and labour relations prevent the movement of labour from agriculture to non-agricultural sectors, constrain labour supply, and increase subsistence earnings thereby putting upward pressure on urban wages.