Eradication of Women Segregation in a Sexist Country by Elif Naz Atalay

“Humankind is made up of two sexes, women and men. Is it possible that a mass is improved  by the improvement of only one part and the other part is ignored? Is it possible that if half of  a mass is tied to earth with chains and the other half can soar into skies?” ―M.K. Atatürk 

In 2021 alone there were 82 women femicide in 81 days in Turkey. Despite Turkey being one  of the first-ever country to give women voting rights (December 5th, 1934), it is also the first  nation to sign the Istanbul Convention which is an international treaty designed to protect  women and hold abusers accountable and now is the first one to take a step backward and  withdraw from it unwarranted. As an adolescent currently residing in Turkey, I greeted this  current tragic news with deep chagrin and I can't stress enough my incomprehension towards  the withdrawal of fundamental rights of women. Gender-based violence is a global scourge  that affects every country and region but it especially affects Turkey, a country that ranked  131 out of 144 countries in terms of the global gender gap in 2017.  

Turkey ranked 66th out of 162 countries based on the Gender Inequality Index (GII). According  to UNDP, Human Development Report 2016 the Gender Inequality Index is a three dimensional composite measure that reflects inequality between men and women. The first  measure can be listed as women's empowerment (share of parliamentary seats held by  women and share of the population with at least some secondary education). With deep regret,  I can say that women hold 17.4 percent of legislature seats, and 50.2 percent of adult women  have completed high school, compared to 72.2 percent of their male counterparts. The second  measure is reproductive health (maternal death ratio and adolescent birth rate). Once again  for every 100,000 live births, 17.0 women die from pregnancy-related causes; and the  adolescent birth rate is 26.6 births per 1,000 women of ages 15-19 which is super young.  Furthermore, the third measure being the labor market participation (labour force participation  rate) which the rate would baffle anyone who hears the female participation in the labor  market. It is 34.0 percent compared to 72.6 for men. 

Even though these forthright numbers were out there of anyone's reach the underlying  messages it gave weren't received with necessary attention. Since the behavior has become  ingrained in Turkish folks, to realize that they simply don't listen to women it is not difficult for  them to turn a blind eye to these day to day ample examples. 

Waking up to news regarding violence against women under the names of sexual harassment,  rape, domestic violence, reproductive coercion, and etc. has been soo normalized that it is  one of the fundamental part of our starting of the day here in Turkey. A history of hundreds of  years of a sexist society in which no one is making a fuss about eradicating this segregation  of women from a man because women are allegedly "inferior" when equated with men. I no  longer want to wake up for proclamations for help and see change go unheard by men of  power. What a thing that I am most scared of is appearing as the subsequent girl in these  news.  

The expectation of a progressive deconstruction of patriarchy is awaited so that women can  be ‘heard’, still means of violence isn't the only issue women face. Both men and women  supposedly are all advocates of basic human rights but in reality, womens' basic laws are  alienated and our long-needed human rights are what "the looked down on part" of the society  want. But a key feature not to omit is that even when Istanbul Convention was accepted as 

legislation it wasn't enough to prevent gender-based domestic violence since the law  enforcement rarely followed. In other words, the constitutional provisions in which when it  comes to a verdict are not discernible. There is not much to anticipate from the attitudes of  minds seeing the legislation as the ground that outlines a threat to "traditional family values"  as well as a promotion means of “immoral lifestyles." 

First and foremost in order to reduce the likelihood of rape, assault, and harassment, the  judicial system should undergo a reform. Furthermore, systematic sexism must be eradicated  to prevent men from believing they have such authority over the physique of women. Then  should we be considering the predetermined gender roles that prevent women from pursuing  higher education, as well as the safety risks that come with it and equal opportunities in the  workplace.