Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turk Kulturu ve Haci Bektas Veli - Arastirma Dergisi, cilt.66, ss.189-212, 2013 (Scopus, TRDizin)
Religion as an institution has always had a crucial impact on people lives. During the history of civilization, the institution of religion has a significant effect on women. Even though the position of women in religions is not the same, it may also display similarities. This study focuses on the position of women in the religious thinking and rituals of the Hatay-Arab Alavites. In addition, the study also analyzes how the women perceive themselves with respect to this positioning. In this qualitative study, data was gathered through the technique of indepth interview with the Arab Alavites women who had different ages, jobs and incomes. Then, data was interpreted to understand and explain women's positioning in this sect. In this study, it is found that the Arab Alavite women in Hatay where the Arab Alavites commonly live in Anatolia show significant differences from the positioning of women in the Turkish culture and the Bektashi Alavites with respect to the religious culture and life. Furthermore, these women question and criticize themselves with respect to their positioning and they try to find a place into the sect of Arab Alavites. It can be argued that women of Arab Alavites, also called as Nusayris, are relatively more autonomous than the other religious thinking and beliefs are. This autonomy can be explained with two reasons. The first is the way how the religious thinking and rituals position the women. The second one is that the women don't criticize their positioning, but rather prefer to accept their positioning and to be active in their social life through these positions.