This issue of Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ) looks at how dynamics unleashed by the Arab Spring are affecting women’s rights and liberties across the Arab world, and how Turkey relates to these complex trends. Authors seek to illuminate questions such as: Is Turkey a model when it comes to women’s rights and empowerment? Or, is Turkey increasingly importing ideas and practices vis-à-vis women from its con -servative Islamic neighbors? Does more democracy necessarily mean more freedom when it comes to lifestyle choices and gender orientation? What can governments and international actors do in order to empower women and also help protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the region? How do structural changes in the economic sphere play into women’s empowerment? Might there need to be another “Spring” – a form of revolution in gender relations?