Things that are not expressed: sociological analysis of silence, in the narratives of Kurdish women's social life

This article analyses the experience of Kurdish women's silence based on their understanding and interpretation of gender and their position in the fields of work, family and education. The aim is to show the social and semantic complexities of the phenomenon of Kurdish women‘ silence. This study was conducted using theoretical sampling and individual interviews with 20 Kurdish women, as well as focus interviews in a group of six, in the framework of interpretive-constructivist approach and the thematic analysis technique. The results have been framed under the two main themes of hegemonic silence and strategic silence, and also sub-themes. They show that women give different meanings to their silence by their silence in different situations while use different strategies. The consequences of each of these types of silence can include those silences that re-establish or disrupt the hegemonic meanings of gender and domination. This study shows that the experience of silence lies in a range of subjugation on the one hand, and subjectivity and agency on the other. Moreover, the boundary between victim and agent cannot be considered as a clear and inflexible boundary.