Elizabeth L. MacDowell
What's the most important thing you are working on right now?
I’ve been in Turkey since September as a Fulbright Scholar and Senior Researcher at Anadolu University, interviewing lawyers and activists who are working on gender violence issues. This is a politically volatile time in Turkey and gender is on the front lines. The Turkish group “We Will Stop Femicide” reports that 365 women were killed by men in the first eleven months of 2017; nearly 2000 have been killed in the last eight years. Human rights activists report that police routinely ignore violence against LGBTQ+ individuals, especially trans women. Yet, Turkey’s ruling AKP party promotes religious conservatism and traditional gender roles, and is pushing back on earlier legal reforms intended to address gender violence and promote equality. I am trying to document and learn from social movements working for gender equality under increasingly difficult circumstances.
What is the most significant issue facing your field and how should it be addressed?
It is critical to recognize, study, and address the global phenomenon of rising populism, nationalism, and authoritarianism. Women, gay, and gender nonconforming people are especially at risk in these anti-democratic regimes, which use traditionalism to cloak attacks on social supports and civil rights. In Turkey, under the state of emergency in place since an attempted coup in July 2016, human rights activists and scholars allied with the feminist movement have been targeted for arrest and detention, universities have been drained of academics working on gender issues, and LGBTQ+ activities have been banned. Legal scholars need more than ever to take a global perspective, and to help our students to think and act globally. It is essential to support and amplify the voices of those targeted by repressive regimes, while recognizing and resisting the rise of anti-democratic politics in the U.S.
What have you read, listened to, or watched recently that has influenced you or your work?
Researching in a country where academics are under attack has made the importance of academic freedom and the role educators play in the fabric of democracy so much more concrete for me. More than 7,500 academics have been purged from universities in Turkey since 2016. These include members of Academics for Peace (AFP), a group of academics targeted for repression after signing a petition protesting human rights abuses against Kurdish areas in Southeastern Turkey. Last month the government began individual prosecutions of AFP members on the charge of “making propaganda for a terrorist organization.” Their experience lends urgency to the question: how can I best use my position as a legal scholar and educator to support democracy? At present this includes thinking about how to make my research more accessible outside of university settings as well as to my students, and developing new, international partners for collaborative efforts.