Most visitors imagine that women in Turkey are silent, black-cloaked figures drifting through narrow streets and darting across courtyards. On the contrary, in Turkey you see a mix of women, from women in headscarves projecting an image of subservience to men, to mini-skirted office employees relaxing at a sushi bar after work.Certainly there are those who are struggling economically, eking out a poor existence in ghetto areas, but on the other hand there are others who are managing quite well financially and who hold major responsibilities. As the level of education increases, the idea that women are only important for serving men’s needs and for child-bearing is diminishing.
In Turkey, the role of women has changed drastically over the centuries.
In Turkey, women play many roles and have a lot to say about their own lives and futures. They attend universities. However, sadly, some young women have missed out on higher education because they had to choose not to attend because they can’t wear a headscarf there.
In the Turkish business world, many Turkish women I know are some of the most highly educated and self-assertive women I have ever met.
Turkish women have come a long way since the civil code enacted in 1926 abolished polygamy and introduced a minimum age for marriage. Women have been given equality of inheritance, and their testimony is now as valid as a man’s in a court of law.
Ramsay Harik and Elsa Marston, in their book “Women in the Middle East: Tradition and Change,” write the following: “In Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia and Turkey, women have been active in professions since the 1950s, and even earlier. Today they are well represented in medicine, dentistry, law, banking, along with professions that have been more hospitable to women such as journalism, library science and university teaching.”
Atatürk gave women the right to vote in 1930. Surprisingly, this is earlier than in many European countries!
As society changes we see that not only in Turkey, but everywhere we look in the Middle East we find that women are caught in societies that expect contradictory things. Turkish women of all walks of life are meeting the challenges with remarkable strength and, you could say, grace. The bonds of family, unity, tradition, ethnic identity and pride are important. Forces of tradition and change will continue to challenge women in Turkey as they sustain these bonds and continue to change.
In Turkey, education is encouraged and highly valued. Women are not meant to just spend their life cooking and concerned with only family matters. Why not learn to read and write and even learn calculus?
Harik and Marston raise the question: In the patriarchal societies of the Middle East and North Africa, how active a public role can women play? You can observe in Turkey that average and above average families understand the advantage of educating their daughters beyond simple literacy and household chores. Times are changing in Turkey, and girls are encouraged to set their sights as high as those of boys.
Here are a few revealing quotes about females:“A woman with no purse is a shameful thing.” –Arab proverb
“Intelligence is the ornament of every serious woman.” -- Lebanese proverb
“Flowers break rocks.” -- Tunisian proverb
“Every daughter is a handful of trouble.” -- Arab proverb
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
