Democratic Resilience and Civil Society: Countering Anti-Gender Ideology in Turkey's 2023 Constitutional Amendment Debate

The backlash against gender equality and LGBTQI+ rights has become a hallmark of democratic backsliding, yet the mechanisms through which democratic actors and institutions resist such erosion remain understudied. This paper explores Turkey's 2023 constitutional amendment proposal, Article 41, as a critical case. The proposal, approved by the ruling AKP and MHP members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly’s Constitution Commission on January 24, 2023, sought to redefine marriage as a union exclusively between a man and a woman, institutionalizing heteronormativity and excluding diverse family structures. This marks the first step in the legislative process to amend the Turkish Constitution, carrying significant legal consequences for marriage, family law, and LGBTQI+ rights. In response, 171 women's rights and LGBTQI+ organizations mobilized in opposition, framing the amendment as an attack on marginalized groups’ rights. Emerging in the broader context of state-led anti-gender campaigns and following Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, these organizations framed the proposal as a violation of democratic principles and human rights. These groups sought to resist the amendment and protect marginalized communities through protests, social media campaigns, and public advocacy. I aim to examine the role of civil society in fostering democratic resilience against autocratic and anti-gender ideologies by following qualitative research techniques. I will first apply the document analysis technique by examining formal statements, petitions, press releases, and social media posts from the 171 women’s and LGBTQI+ organizations. This will shed light on their framing of the issue, arguments, and strategies. Besides, I will conduct semi-structured interviews with leaders and key members of this group in order to provide personal insights into their strategies, experiences, and perceptions regarding the constitutional change and their role in resisting the proposal. By situating Turkey’s experience within the literature on democratic resilience and autocratization’s gendered dimensions, this research explores the interplay between activism, institutional responses, and the protection of rights under threat. The findings aim to fill the gap in the literature as there is a notable lack of country-specific case studies examining democratic resilience in the context of gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights.