Original Research Article

Original Research Article

Women’s and Girls’ Sports in Turkey H. Serap INAL, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey

CONTACT INFORMATION: Serap INAL, Ph.D., PT, Professor Yeditepe University Faculty of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation 26th Campus Kayisdagi, Kadikow, Istanbul E–mail: [email protected] Phone: +0090 216 578 00 00 /3216 Fax: 0090 216 578 04 96

Abstract In Turkey, as a secular Muslim country, women have a modern, contemporary lifestyle but are also attached to their traditions and customs. Although sport in Turkey is being encouraged and supported by the state through The Directorate General of Youth and Sports (DGYS), the Turkish Football Federation, and sports clubs, the gap between the facilities and number of sports provided for male and female athletes can easily be seen. Women and girls are not receiving the same opportunities as men, which differ by region and according to the socioeconomic status and education level of the people. The families’ view of sports is also an important factor affecting girls’ sports. In the past two decades there has been an increase in participation among women and girls in elite and recreational sports, however this is not satisfactory.

Introduction In Turkey, as a secular Muslim country, women have a modern, contemporary lifestyle, but are also attached to their traditions and customs. This may change due to the diversity of the country according to region, socioeconomic status, and the educational level of the people. Generally speaking, as women become educated and economically independent they have the chance to lead a much more modern lifestyle, but the essence of their traditions and customs may still govern their lives. This could be considered the characteristic feature of Turkish women. According to the Turkish Civil Law that was first issued in 1926 just after the Turkish Republic was established by the Turkish National Hero, Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK, “men and women [had] equal rights in all aspects of life” (The Constitution of Republic of Turkey, 2010). Thus women gained the same oppor-

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tunities as men in education facilities, in the work environment, and in family life, and they also had the same rights over their children and their education. In 2001, some reforms were made to the Turkish Civil Law to provide better protection for women and children. According to these reforms, the head of the family is no longer the father—as specified before— but ratherboth father and mother have equal rights to decide on family issues.

country, the sports offered to female students in the educational system, and the status of women and girls in recreative and performance sports compared with males. Thus, we expect to provide a basis for future studies on sports for women in other Islamic countries. Although the scarcity of literature in this area was a limitng factor for this study, national print media and web sites of public and sports federations served as resources for this article.

Although this has been written in the law, the patriarchal lifestyle still dominates in the eastern and rural parts of the country, where the education level is lower, In certain regions men still make the decisions regarding family issues by themselves, since they hold the economical power, and the women carry out their role of taking care of the household and children. This comes from traditions and customs that we believe could be reduced as the education level of both genders increases. The same situation can be seen in sports opportunities for women, which unfortunately are not homogeneous in all parts RIWKHFRXQWU\HLWKHU$ņo× $GGLWLRQDOO\FXOWXUDO and religious expectation may urge women and girls to practice sports with a scarf covering the hair and with certain dresses rather then regular sports clothing (Pfister, 2000), especiallyin the schools and in the governmental areas open to the public. However, private centers, clubs, and open public areas sometimes allow women to practice sports in any manner they wish. These differences are associated with the cultural diversity of the country. The Hosper, Nierkens, van Valkengoed, and Stronks (2008) study regarding the effect of acculturation on sport participation among young Turkish and Moroccan women in the Netherlands reported that acculturation had a positive influence rts among Turkish women, but not among Moroccan women. Their findings imply that culturally specific attitutes among Turkish women were effective at increasing their participation in sports. We believe that the releation between culturally specific attitudes or beliefs and the partcipation in physical activities and sports among Turkish women living in the Western world is also affected by the concrete infleunce of their background in Turkey.

History of the Turkish Physical Education and Sports

Therefore, we aimed to review the progression of women’s and girls’ sports in Turkey as a secular Muslim


The first physical education course was offered at the Galatasaray High School in Istanbul by French teachers. Between the years of 1912 and1922, even though the country was struggling with many wars, a special emphasis was given to train teachers in physical education. In 1913 schools for boys and in 1915 schools for girls started to teach two hours per week of physical education. After the Turkish Republic was established in 1925, three-yearuniversity programs for physical education teachers were initiated. The first university education for girls was initiated in 1936, and today there are more then 60 colleges and universities spread across Turkey that offer similar programs and conditions for female and male students. In 1938, May 19th (which was also the first day of the Turkish Independence War of 1919) was established as the “Fair of Youth and Sports,” . ATATÜRK decided to give this day as present to the youths in Turkey to show the importance of sports to the nation. For several years the newspapers published articles on the topics of men’s and women’s physical fitness, as well as on athletic expositions of various kinds and competitions for both genders, including running, jumping, gymnastics, rowing, and swimming. Many articles discussed the benefits of sports such as fencing and calisthenics, and covered the athletic activities of women in other countries (Shissler, 2004). In the early 1970s feminism and equal opportunities for women became a central topic around the world. As the health and physical fitness movements spread, special importance was given to sports by society (Coakley, 1994). However this could not be achieved in the same

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manner in all societies. Turkey was rather slow in its progress, and sport diversity was not spread equally among ERWKJHQGHU.RFD$ņo× .LUD]F× However, the concept of a healthy lifestyle and the importance of physical activity in daily living is increasing in Turkey. The Ministry of Health, Directorate General of Youth and Sports (DGYS), municipalities, universities, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, sports centers, and sports clubs are supporting this focus and searching for ways to increase the physical activity level of people at all sociocultural and educational levels. The nationwide project of the Ministry of Health on obesity (Fight Against Obesity Project in Turkey-2008-2012) projects conducted by universities, the establishment of fitness areas in parks for people with and without disabilities by the municipalities, and morning group-exercise programs organized in the parks are some examples of these activities. A recent study investigating the daily physical activity level of women found that the women who work as housewives are regulating their in-house tasks in such a way that they can participate in daily physical activities DWVSRUWVFHQWHUVRUVSRUWVFOXEV%XOJX$U×WDQ $ņo× 2007). A study conducted with young men found that being educated and living in the city is releated with a PRUH VHGHQWDU\ OLIHVW\OH .×U HW DO &RQVLGHULQJ the social stracture for women in Turkey, it can be assumed that educated women who live in cities areless active then men. A study regarding the physical activity level of educted university teaching staff working in Eastern Anatolia conducted by Tel & Köksalan (2008), found that the percentage of women involved in sports (always: %0, often: 14.5%, sometimes: 25.5%, rarely: 43.6%, never: 16.4%) was smaller than the percentage of men (always: 6.9%, often: 21.8%, sometimes: 39.2%, rarely: 27.8%, never: 4.8%). Walking (regular: 32-52.8%, irregular: 22-40%) was the preferred activity among female teaching staff; Turkish folk dance/modern dance (regular: 10-18.2%, irregular: 25-45.5%) and swimming (regular: 3-5.5%, irregular: 32- 58.2%) were the other most preferred ones. Inal et al. (2009) evaluated the physical activity level of university staff (physical education, veterinary, engiQHHULQJORJLVWLFV LQĞVWDQEXODQGIRXQGWKDWPHQZHUH more physically active then women. According to the


International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), the total weekly energy expenditure was 1743.4±2189.1METmin/week in men and 1074±12.991MET-min/week in women. Although the difference was not significant, the physical activity level of female teaching staff (heavy: 180±498.9, moderate: 199.5±407.95 MET-min/week) was lower than that of men, but the sitting duration of men (488.2±232MET-min/week) during the day was higher than that of women (364±232.7 MET-min/week) (p'DLO\OLIHZRPHQ and physical activity]. Spor Bilimleri Dergisi, Hacettepe Journal of Sports Sciences, 18, 167-181. Coakley, J. J. (1994). Sports in society, St. Luis, MO: Times Mirner/Mosby. Directorate General of Youth and Sports (DGYS) www. gsgm.gov.tr (accessed: 07/03/2010). Fasting, K., & Pfister, G. (1999). Opportunities and barriers for sport for women in Turkey. Las Vegas, NV: Women of Diversity Production. Global database on BMI, WHO (2010), http://www. who.int/bmi/index.jsp?introPage=intro_3.html. (accessed: 09/03/2010) +DVNHOO://HH,03DWH553RZHOO.(%OD×U 61)UDQNO×Q%$0DFHUD&$+HDWK*: Thompson, P. D. and Bauman, A. (2007) Physical Activity and Public Health: Updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 39:1423–1434. +DWHPL+7XUDQ1$U×N1 )HPDOH IRRWEDOO LQ the World and Turkey: Its today and tomarrow]. The 11th ICHPER-SD Europe Regional Congress and Exposition Proceedings, (pp. 29-39), Antalya, Turkey.

.RFD& %HGHQHđLWLPLYHVSRUDODQ×QGDWRSOXPVDO FLQVL\HW LOLņNLOHUL [Gender relations in the area of physical education and sports]. Spor Bilimleri Dergisi, Hacettepe Journal of Sports Sciences, 17, 81-99. .RFD&$ņo×)+ .LUD]F×6 *HQGHUUROH orientation of athletes and nonathletes in a patriarchal society: A study in Turkey. Sex Roles, 52, 217-225. ,QDO 6