In promising women equal citizenship rights and promoting gender equality, Turkey's recent welfare reforms appear to address fundamental problems-the patriarchal system limits women's lives to their roles as wives and mothers, and their labour to informal and unskilled sectors. Yet these policies, guided by the process of accession to the European Union, have conflicting outcomes for women. The reforms sweep away historic support structures and deem women 'equal citizens' without adequate interventions in legal and social frameworks, thus increasing their vulnerability. The AKP's neo-liberal policies and rising Islamic movements further weaken the reform process. With a comprehensive analysis of Turkey's welfare regime and of EU policy through the lens of gender, this book will be indispensable for all those interested in Turkish and Middle East studies, the EU, sociology, gender studies and globalisation.