"Fight to Appear" by Pelin Keskin
In Turkey, women are struggling for many years to get their fundamental rights. They have to prove themselves to be on a par with men. Although they face both psychological and physical difficulties, they do not give up because they know that the problem is not in themselves, but the system.
The first reason creates difficulties for women is that the law is not implemented fairly. There are constitutional provisions that protect women's rights but when it comes to a verdict, their effects are not visible. Most of the time the crimes committed against them go unpunished and this prepares the occasion for new ones. For example, researches show that the number of women killed by men is increasing every year enormously. It even reached such a level that women who were subjected to violence turned into routine news every day. The main reason for this is insufficient penalties. Every day a woman experiences violence somewhere, but criminals find vulnerabilities in the system and somehow get rid of the punishment. Women have no trust that justice will work if something happens to them. They have to think about whether something will happen to them in every move they make because violence against women is spread everywhere in Turkey. Therefore, it causes women to live in constant fear.
Not only the law, but society is also corrupt because of two essentially innocent things: religion and tradition. Religion and traditions are largely determining Turkey's social life. At first, these two may seem unproblematic because they take part in the formation of culture, but people use them as an obstacle against women by changing them for their benefits. It may have been influenced by many cultures due to its location, but in essence, Turkish culture has a structure that values women, at least it was. The ideas that most people advocate today as "Turkish culture" are just distorted things. People who want to protect their culture also hold on to these ideas and take an attitude towards women. In this way, an environment exists where the main culture disappeared and tough ideas spread. These "tough ideas" are those that keep men superior. This is the best defense in men's hands. Even if religion and tradition do not match their views, they make them seem to be. They exert psychological violence, beat and kill women by using these changed opinions as an excuse and argue that they do this to be “right and good”.
Moreover, the public has indestructible views, including the role of women in society. Some argue that women cannot or should not do what men do. In their view, women are not equal to men. When women prove their equality with success, they ignore and make excuses. The biggest reason behind such views is the wrong ideas, as I just mentioned. According to that people, the control of the woman should be in the hands of her father or husband. On their side, men know the best about women. Therefore, women are becoming addicted to someone else. This opens up a huge gap that is difficult to close between men and women. These views that passivate women prevent the formation of a healthy society.
As a result, women face various difficulties in being an independent individual in social life. Most of the women born and influenced by patriarchal views and live without realizing their potential and not even understanding that they are under pressure. They are becoming isolated from society. Both women and men who are aware of this situation are doing everything to counter. Nevertheless, as long as they looking for justice, the public will see them, even if they don't want to.