Analyzing the Subjectivity of Kurdish Women: Conformity or Resistance within Social Contexts

Subjectivity is the reflexive experience of awareness and individual agency in interaction with oneself and with others in the real, symbolic, and institutional realms. This study aims to comprehend the social and semantic complexities of the subjectivity of Kurdish women. The research employed theoretical sampling and in-depth individual interviews with 43 Kurdish women, supplemented by the formation of a focus group consisting of six individuals, within the interpretive-constructivist approach and grounded theory method framework. The findings reveal that the subjectivity of Kurdish women can be grasped through the central phenomenon of suspension. This experience was categorized into four concepts: suspension of cognition and agency, suspension of lived experience, conscious suspension of fear, and suspension as a strategy. Contextual conditions and institutional relations encompass normative institutions, regulatory institutions, minority status, and economic status while intervening conditions include experiences of subjugation, social connections, and available resources. Three types of strategies emerged: protection strategy, resistance strategy, and negotiation. Ultimately, this study demonstrates the intricate nature of subjectivity in Kurdish women's experiences, depicting it as fluid, mixed, and multifaceted, and existing within three categories of female subjectivity, passive-unembodied-internal subjectivity vs. embodied/active subjectivity, and delocalized subjectivity.