The birth of Ottoman penal biopolitics: motherhood, pregnancy and child-protection in the criminal justice system (1850–1918)

This article presents a broad analysis of the Ottoman penal policies concerning the tolerant and clement punitive sanctions for mother offenders during the late Ottoman era. It scrutinizes the penal strategies of the late Ottoman government, particularly its endeavors in criminal justice reform, with a specific focus on the treatment of female offenders concerning their reproductive functions and maternal roles. The socio-cultural, religious, and biopolitical significance of mothers exerted a profound impact on the formulation of particular Ottoman penal policies. Hence, the main argument of this article underscores the widespread valuation of even criminal women and their babies within the Ottoman penal contexts. This valuation is exemplified through the application of penal measures, including the suspension of death sentences, exemption from strenuous penal labor as stipulated in the 1858 Penal Code, provision of supplementary rations and specific healthcare services, hospitalization of pregnant inmates, and child protection as outlined in the 1880 Prison Regulation. Although the implementation of the penal codes and prison regulations was frequently hampered by fiscal crises and political instability, these attempts marked the birth of penal biopolitics.