Türkiye'de kadın meclislerinin ortaya çıkışı 1990'lı yılların ortalarına denk gelmektedir. 2006 yılında kent konseyleri yönetmeliği ile birlikte daha kurumsal bir nitelik kazanan kadın meclisleri yerel demokrasinin, katılımın ve yerel yönetişimin sağlanmasında etkin bir araç olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Artık günümüzde vatandaşların talep ve beklentileri yerel yönetişimi zorunlu kılmaktadır. Bu bağlamda Kadın Meclisleri kadınların kentsel yaşamda daha görünür olmalarında, yerel yönetişimin mümkün kılınmasında, yerel hizmetlerin yerel yönetimlerle işbirliği içerisinde sunumunda bir rol üstlenebilir. Özellikle son günlerde ülkemizde kadın meclislerinin gerçekleştirdiği faaliyetler ve projeler dikkate alındığında esasında kentsel hizmetlerin sunumu gibi bir görevleri olmamasına karşın yerelleşmede önemli bir aktör olarak her geçen gün rolünün daha da arttığı rahatlıkla ifade edilebilir. Bu nedenle özellikle yerel yönetimlerin faaliyetlerinde bu meclislerin hem kamuoyu oluşturma açısından hem de yerelde katılım ve yönetişimi daha etkin ve anlamlı kılma anlamında önemli bir konumda olduğu rahatlıkla ifade edilebilir. Ancak kadın meclislerinin kendilerine ait bütçelerinin olmayışı, bağlı oldukları belediyelerin yapacakları projelerde finansal desteği sağlıyor olması yerel faaliyetleri açısından bazı problemlerin doğmasına neden olabilmektedir. Çalışmada örnek olarak incelenen Karatay Kadın Meclisinin henüz yeni kurulmuş ve "kurumsallaşmış" olmasına rağmen bugüne kadar gerçekleştirdiği faaliyetler dikkate alındığında yerel düzeyde bir aktör olarak önemli bir rol üstlendiği rahatlıkla ifade edilebilir. Çalışmada kadın meclislerinin yerel hizmetlerin sunumunda bir aktör olup-olamayacağı veya kadın meclislerinin bu konudaki rolü tartışılacak ve Konya İli Karatay İlçesi Kadın Meclisi üyeleriyle yapılan mülakattan elde edilen bulgulara yer verilecektir

One of the issues increasing prominence in the local governments in Turkey is the women councils operating under the umbrella of city councils. Because, the increasing importance of governance and participation concepts, realization of which is expected from the city councils, has also increased the importance of women's councils that are under the umbrella of those councils, and they have become more visible despite showing some certain stasis. Unlike the mainly centralized governing approach in Turkey, women’s councils within the body of city councils are predicted to be able to take an inevitable role in the in providing local governance with local participation. Indeed, women’s councils’ taking a functional role as a means of forming public opinion also emerges as an important issue, through taking care of both political and administrative dimensions of participation. Definition of governance as a model of management; which target a multi faceted and joint style of action and is based on the consensus of the parties in the communities with various actors (Bozkurt, 2014: 232), necessitates governance in the delivery of many urban services for local governments. Therefore, it is necessary to create an effective and efficient output series, by increasing participation in local governments. That is associated with the activities of the bodies having the power for creating public opinion to accelerate the local mechanisms. In this regard, women's councils can play an important role. In this regard the concept of local governance is defined, the capacity of the women’s council for being, or their role as, an actor in the provision of local services is discussed, examples of successful women’s councils in Turkey are dealt with. Finally, the findings derived from the interviews conducted with the members of The Women’s Council of Karatay District in Konya, take place in the study. Women's councils, have an important institutional identity in making the women able to clearly say their ideas, to produce solutions and to actively participate in decision-making mechanisms. Also, they make their presence felt as a voluntarily organised democratic formation, which encourage women to stand against their own problems. Therefore, providing participation in the decision-making process and offering router contributions to the authority of local mechanisms as a result of forming a public opinion may be considered among the most important functions of the women’s councils. Women's councils have many activities throughout Turkey. On the other hand, working groups of the women's councils occasionally carry on some activities. Variety of the working groups existing in the structure of the women's councils, allows making the women locally visible and active in the provision of many different services. Karatay Women’s Council, which actively began its operations in January 2015, has an important position among the other Women's Councils in Konya. It involves two working groups: "City Women" and "Social Affairs". Karatay Women's Council aims to make the women to maintain their role and status in the city, and encourages their awareness about the problems of the city life and their attempts to take initiative for the city; through its works done and projects carried out. In fact, Karatay Women's Council is emerging as a major player with a variety of events, in terms of both strengthening the urban sensibility of the women who have lived in the city for a long time; and ensuring the compliance and the sense of belonging to the city of the ones who had involved later, with the cities. In this context, many projects such as youth festivals are planned and implemented, in order to create the consciousness and awareness of the people, who live in the formerly villages that became parishes as a result of the Law No. 6360, about being connected to a municipality. In addition, free sports programs are provided for women to be able to do sports in a relaxed atmosphere. Additionally, a variety of courses on the issues that are needed by the women living in the area are held in coordination with the Public Education Centre, and they are provided the opportunity to improve themselves. Karatay Women's Council has realised projects, which are expected to constitute examples for urban services, such as "creation of urban forests, taking mentally retarded children to cinemas and theatres, organising and conducting training courses for hearing-impaired children and women, organizing iftar programs in the month of Ramadan, helping the orphan girls about their dowries when they get married, organising circumcision feasts". In addition, some solutions are tried to be produced through a female eye to various issues such as providing the basic needs of the widows and orphans in need of care and sheltering them in the 96 houses established with name "compassion houses", giving report card gifts to the orphan children, who are determined by contacting with mukhtars and school offices, buying a new house for a family in need of help instead of their house that had burned, giving housewives the opportunity contribute their household economy by producing something, making a contract with a clothing store and making them give 100 orphans the clothes they like. Karatay Municipality provides financial support for the realising the organizations of Karatay Women's Council. However, the phrases in the municipal law on the help of the municipalities to the city councils, may be regarded as a problem in financial terms. Indeed, lack of budgets for the structures such as women's councils to apply directly, and their lack of spending authority (Erkul Baykal and Kara, 2013: 91), brings certain restrictions to the mobility areas of those councils. Karatay Women’s Council receives many requests via social media or in the form of direct application to the related units, while they occasionally take actions directly, as well. Among them, especially in helping the families in need of help and care, Karatay Women’s Council plays a Role such as the Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundations which are sub-units of the district governorates. Additionally, the applications to the Social Affairs of the Women's Council are tried be replied through reinforcing them with preliminary investigations getting in contact with the district governorate. On the other hand, in Turkey, lack of social recognition on the city councils and their subsidiary bodies, which are women and youth councils, their being entirely under the control of municipal governments, their lack of their own law, legal personality, budget and etc.; their partly being limited to perfunctory functions; their problems about the structure of the council and participation, emerge among important discussion topics (Ulusoy and the Tekdere, 2015: 53). When the activities carried out so far by the Karatay Women’s Council are considered, it can be easily stated that they have played an important role as a local level actor, though being newly established and not “institutionalised”. The activities and the projects carried out by the Women's Council are financed by Karatay Municipality. In terms of overcoming the difficulties and problems experienced by the women, through the eyes of a women, the help being taken to the right owners by the active members of the women’s council, who knows the field, quickly and efficiently through a variety of cooperation mechanisms; is very important in terms of strengthening local governance.