both girls and boys have to be transformed into
women and men, rather than simply becoming
adults as a result of physical growth. Within this
context, the female initiation ritual deals with a
woman’s understanding and representation of her
position in the world and of the relations involved
according to experience rather than to abstract
moral ideals.Bibliography
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L. Eile, Jando. The rite of circumcision and initiation in
East African Islam, Lund 1990.
A. van Gennep, The rites of passage, London 1960.
K. Larsen, Unyago – from girl to woman. The construc-
tion of female gender identity in the light of initiation
rituals, religiosity and modernisation in Zanzibar, Oslo
1990.
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changing landscapes and problems of privacy in urban
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poverty in Africa, Lund 2000, 198–219.
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cantile civilization, London 1992.
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et al. (eds.), Chelewa, chelewa. The dilemma of teenage
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Language and Cultures8:1 (1995), 87–107.Kjersti LarsenTurkey and the CaucasusThe gender socialization of women in Turkey
and the Caucasus has been subject to the particular
cultural norms and societal values determining the
role and position of women according to region,
class/social status, and the state ideologies govern-
ing these societies. These norms and values under-
went fundamental changes in the twentieth century,
with Kemalist modernization programs in Turkey
and the Soviet revolution in the Caucasus.
Broadly speaking, the institution of the family
has been the most crucial support system in the
lives of women. Much of the early socialization of
girls is through the role models provided by moth-
ers and grandmothers. The latter are particularly
significant in the case of urban centers in the Cau-
casus where under the Soviet system large numbers
of women who were employed outside the home206 gender socialization
shared childcare with their own mothers. Given the
rather distant father-daughter relationships, and
the more authoritarian attitude of brothers, moth-
ers are very often the mediators in settling disputes
and negotiating differences. The different socializa-
tion patterns for girls and boys are based on the
assumed male and female roles within the house-
hold and outside in society. For girls, housekeeping
and childcare, almost solely female responsibilities,
are arenas of activity in preparation for their future
role as wife and mother, in addition to any formal
education. The internalization of women’s double
burden begins early on from the end of primary
school age. The boys, in contrast, are left free to
engage far more in play, socializing with friends and
family, and performing outdoor chores. The sense
of authority, confidence, and self-esteem gained by
the male children as they develop social skills is fur-
ther reinforced through their privileged status as
the future head of the family. This is especially the
case for boys who are only sons.turkey
The issue of nàmùs(male honor related to female
sexual propriety) is a primary determinant in regu-
lating girls’ mobility, autonomy, and interaction
with unrelated males. There is strict expectation of
chastity (virginity) before marriage for girls, made
the more crucial as marriage is considered their pri-
mary goal in life regardless of level of education and
family status. The exceptions here are the secular-
ized middle and upper classes in western Turkey for
whom the question of a girl’s educational attain-
ment and career may be of greater concern than her
marriage prospects. Attitudes to premarital sexual
relations have also altered significantly among the
young in this stratum of Turkish society (Kandiyoti
1981). Nevertheless, gender asymmetry is still
reflected in the expectations of a greater level of
education for a husband than for his wife. In Tur-
key’s rural areas and small towns a high level of
education in a girl is actually considered detrimen-
tal to her marriage prospects. This accords with the
subservient position a wife is expected to assume in
relation to her husband, particularly when living
communally with his family. In later years, how-
ever, when the wife’s children have grown up, there
is a shift in power relations with regard to both the
husband and the in-laws. Sociability in these
regions is also very much along the traditional gen-
der segregated pattern: males gathering outside the
home (tea and coffee houses, civic centers, and so
forth) and women paying house visits to friends and
family (Kıray 1981).