On Being Unable to be A Single Mother by Choice in Turkey

Abstract

Motherhood, which seems to be a women’s issue in principle, has always been a phenomenon that needs to be regulated through various practices by the rulers, in order for the patriarchy to sustain itself. This affects especially the lives of women who are not married but want to have a kid in many ways. In this research, the women in Turkey who want to but cannot have a kid because they are not married were asked semi-structured questions. The research evaluates why these women want to have a kid, what the psychological and social effects of being unable to have a kid are, how they cope with this situation, and whether they prefer to be a mother in a society where gender equality is ensured and single motherhood by choice is possible. In the research, case study, which is a type of qualitative research design, and homogenous sampling, which is a purposive sampling method, was used. Twenty women who were single and over 30 years old were interviewed face-to-face. The women were asked 16 questions. Then content analysis of the responses was done. The findings reveal that the women who cannot have a child have serious psychological and social problems.