"DIVERSITY. EQUALITY. UNITY. " by Defne Keskendir

 "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression." states the 19th Article  of Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But is it the case in my country, in Turkey? Let’s  take a closer look at this crucial topic.  

 I live in a country where men have always had this mindset of having power over women  which comes from the Ottoman history. Has it changed since then? Since the founder of the  Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk gave Turkish women a lot of different rights before  most of the European countries, we would expect these rights at least to be preserved and  maintained. However, women in Anatolia are still unequally treated. Even in a family which is  the smallest community unit, women have no right to speak up because they are afraid that their  voices will not be heard, or in the worst case, are scared of domestic violence. What do I mean  by that? Every day in our news, we witness devastating violence against innocent women who  are forgotten later on because, at the time of the incident, their voice was not heard or got  ignored by the authority. Along with that, when these criminals are reported, most of them do  not get the punishment they deserve.  

 Here is a heart-wrenching story of a 20-year-old Turkish university student Özgecan  Aslan. She lost her life while she was resisting attempted rape on 11 February, 2015. On the  day of her death, she was traveling on a minibus. When all the passengers got off, Ahmet Suphi  Altındöken, the minibus driver, drove her to the woods and tried to rape her. Özgecan Aslan  fought back using pepper spray but he stabbed her to death. Moreover, his father and a friend  helped him burn the body and dispose it. Those three were arrested soon afterwards. The trial  was acclaimed as hugely symbolic in a country where each year hundreds of women are killed  by men, often their husbands. Looking at the numbers, at least 474 women were murdered in  Turkey in 2019 according to an annual report made by ‘We Will Stop Femicides Platform’, a  woman’s rights organization that monitors violence against women. There is a 471% increase  in femicides in the last 17 years, as stated by the same organization. Nevertheless, killers have  frequently been given reduced sentences by saying that the woman provoked them, or that their  dignity was damaged.  

 Furthermore, I want to mention another point which means a lot to me and women in  general, because no matter how strong or talented we are, we still hear that, “You are a woman,  you cannot do that.” In my country, some activities, manners and jobs are labeled by gender,  which I strongly believe is not fair. For instance, going out late for women is not acceptable in  Turkey, that is why women who are abused, are blamed “equally guilty” or “provocative”.  Laughing out in public for women is not okay in some Anatolian regions, whereas it is normal  for men. Wearing tight clothes, shorts, and short sleeves is not tolerable, while no words can be  said to men, and the list goes on. Speaking of gender discrimination, it is not common for girls  to go to school in East parts of Anatolia. Although, Turkey is no different than many countries  for having relatively lower levels of education among girls, it exhibits certain peculiarities by  having a greater education inequality among women. Living in a rural area negatively affects  the education of boys and girls, nonetheless only for the female, the rate is statistically  significant. As stated before, urban-rural distinction might be more important for girls since the  schooling opportunities are more restricted and families are more likely to keep their daughters  at home.  

 I believe that women in my country as well as all across the world deserve a better  future. In order to achieve it, not only the government but also the public should pay more  attention to gender equality which is well reflected in the Atatürk’s philosophy: “In our opinion,  the woman in the era of the republic is an honorable, most esteemed being higher than anything  else as she has been throughout the history.” We should address the root cause of all the aforementioned threats: ignorance. It can only be eliminated by proper education throughout  the country. Every individual including myself have to contribute to establishing dignity,  respect and justice for all.