IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN IN TURKS: THEN AND NOW by Zehra Nur Sarıkaya

The human biology is excellent. Even though we have similarities, each person is different. The two genders,  which we call men and women, are full of differences. Men and women are not equal, but any of these different traits in men or women don’t make the other sex superior to the other one. These differences in men and  women complement of each other. Unfortunately, because of the physical differences, some people have  placed the patriarchal system in our culture by making the man seem superior. The effects of this patriarchal  mindset are still visible nowadays. The fact that there are girls who are married at the age of 15 – 16 and who are not sent to school, especially at the east side of the Turkey shows the value given to women very clearly. Of  course, not only that, even women living in İstanbul, which we can call the most modern and developed city in Turkey, cannot walk on streets comfortably at night because of the fear of being harassed by men. Also, there  are women who are despised in their business environment only because of their gender. Was Turkey which  still has problems owing to gender discrimination, always like this? When we go back to the old times, when we  look at the ancient Turkish civilizations, did they also have a patriarchal mindset? 

 Since the oldest periods of humanity, negative discrimination against women has shown itself. The  discrimination based on the physical differences. Back in old times many communities described and considered woman as incapable to live on her own and have weak personality. Chinese people didn’t even use to give a name if the child was a girl and instead called them with numbers. Arabs saw the girls as an embarrassment and  buried some of them while they were still alive. While gender discrimination in ancient times was so widespread  all over the world, it is not possible for Turkish societies to be completely modern, but compared to many  nations, the place of women in pre-Islamic Turkish Civilizations is impressively civilized. In ancient Turkish  civilizations, there is also patriarchal system, however, it is different from what many nations practiced. It's not  just a male-dominated system like in Rome and Iran; it is a system where women and children also have rights  too. In ancient Turkish civilizations, women were seen as the foundation of the family and had a voice in the  family. In fact, some women contributed in economic, political and governance issues. In the Huns(an old race of  Turks), a woman is a complement to a man, and there is a woman's hand in every job. The name of Hakan's  (name of the empire’s emperor) wife, Hatun, in under the Kağan’s orders also means that she has as much say in  the governance as the man. Also women have the same say in Uighurs and Gokturks too. At feasts, congresses,  worships and rites, the woman was always with Hakan. Women and girls were able to share the inheritance, and  men and women were buried at the same area when they died. The monogamy of Turkish men is also an  impressive feature during a period of time where women were sold as slaves. In many societies. One of the  most important sources which gives written information about ancient Turkish Civilizations is the Orhun  Inscriptions. The Orhun Inscriptions begin with "Hakan and Hatun command." In some parts, women who  understand state work were mentioned. The female figure in the old Turkish epics and legends also gives  information about the position of the woman in that time. In epics, the mother and wife were always portrayed  as beings from a divine light. In Turkish Mythology, Ak Mother who inspired creation, was closer to God  compared to many other males. There is also a belief that there is a female spirit who protects the nation. In  Dede Korkut Stories, the oldest known saga of Turks, woman are always reflected as source of strength and  inspiration. Appeals to woman are always respectful and nice. The word “person” in those stories expresses both sexes and this is an important detail which shows that there were no gender inequality. Boys and girls were 

raised together until puberty. Apart from these, strong and faithful women were mentioned in Turkish epics. On  horse and brave female figure who participates in wars, willing to sacrifice her life for her husband if its needed  is seen. It is believed that the reason why Turkish Civilizations were a society that valued men and women in  almost the same way during this period was the faith of Turks: Shamanism. Shamanism accepts that everything  has a soul and believe that these spirits live in different worlds and unites in the middle world. This middle world  that we are in is influenced by visible and invisible worlds. People who can communicate between these worlds  and are in charge of community’s welfare, health and happiness are also called shamans. In Shamanism, there is  no sexism because both men and women can be Shamans. It is believed that the first shamans were women, but  then male shamans were more dominant due to political changes. During the periods when male shamans  dominated, the patriarchal mentality began to demonstrate itself a little, but the woman was still valued. In  Turks where there is no gender bias due to the features of shamanism belief, especially after Islam, the  patriarchal system has become more dominant because of faith changes and cultural interactions. In ancient  Turkish civilizations, men and women took part in subjects where they were more biologically prone and were  almost equal in terms of their rights. Although today, women's rights have been much improved due to thoughts  such as humanism and the view of gender discrimination has changed a little more, women are still being  discriminated against in many parts of Turkey or Turkish countries because of their gender. In many families  today, the mother is literally not different than a servant. The man of the house commutes to work; and the  mother in charge of housework and giving birth and raising children. There are girls in many parts of Anatolia  who are not sent to school. They don’t even think it’s worth paying attention the thoughts and wishes of these  girls. At an early age, they are taught housework and how to be wives of their husbands. As soon as they reach  puberty, they marry men who are older than themselves. This is same as seeing them a sexual object. While  most of those things happening at the east side of Turkey , the west is not really different. There are also gender  discrimination and attacks on woman in that region.We can see some disgusting attacks to woman. The bus  driver raped the young girl which he found alone on the bus and then killed her. A woman exposure the  violence because she was wearing short. In the news you can see woman who attacked or killed by man because  she didn’t like him back or didn’t want to be with him. Woman can't even walk around the streets at night freely  because they're afraid of encountering a pervert or exposure the violence. Besides, looking these creatures  look like a male-sex but really they are too disgusting to be called human. Of course these events are the ones  that we able see on the news and made sound on the media but similar to these or even worse events take  place every day.  

 It is absolutely inhumane to use the physical power to someone who is weaker than him in terms of creation  and to excel with it. No gender is superior to another. They just have differences. One of the most fundamental  features of the world we are living in is that almost nothing created is exactly the same. It is a world full of  variations and differences. Human beings urgently need to learn to respect differences and push their ego aside.