Abstract

This article explores the diverse experiences of Turkish rural migrant women in the city and how city living enters the definition of gender and the distribution of power in the migrant household. It draws on data collected in an ethnographic study of migrants in Ankara, Turkey, and examines whether this migration improves or deteriorates migrant women's position in the family. Specifically, it identifies four groups of migrant women and speculates on some of the factors that shape their diverse experiences. The data reveal that city living affects the position of migrant women to varying degrees, depending on their particular Islamic sect; the demands made on them to assure family survival and achievement; and, to some extent, their age, socioeconomic status, educational level, position in the life cycle, and the status and economic wealth of the wife's family and the wife's relationship with it.