The 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 governing these societies. These norms and values underwent 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 s…