Devastating & Pervasive by Gupse Ada Çelik
February 17, 2022, social media users would open their phones, check their messages, then go on Instagram. Below the various stories of users they follow, they face a disturbing post from 19 hours ago. The post would contain the photo of a smiling girl with a horrendous text overshadowing half of the photo, translating to '16-year-old girl murdered cruelly by having her throat slit by Hüseyin Can Gökçek. Upon reading about her story on news sources, the users would soon realize that she was a teen bride and coerced into marriage by a man five years older. Sadly, the post explained why Sıla no longer lives with us in this earthly realm. We, as women, no longer want to fear going outside, or to have 155 on speed dial; we no longer want to fear for our lives in our own homes and our trusty neighborhoods, or to fear our fathers, brothers, husbands, coworkers, and teachers. We no longer want to hope to give birth to boys, so we won’t have to fear for their safety every time they leave or meet up with their friends. The anxiety Turkish women experience is a core component of everyday situations we navigate, and this fear has reached its apex.
At the end of 2021, I read the blood-chilling data reported by the Federation of Women’s Association of Turkey (TKDF), which stated that 367 women were murdered. One woman every day. Furthermore, this data did not include the women who died of suspicious deaths. Unfortunately, women who plunge to their deaths, or whose bodies are discovered covered in bruises or found hung to death in their bathrooms cause the municipality coroners to frame their deaths as suicide, NOT femicide.
March 8th, 2022, International Women’s Day, over 10,000 Turkish women gathered in Taksim Square and peacefully protested their lack of human rights. Turkish women raised their voices for their sisters who couldn’t stand up for themselves with vigor, tenacity, and hope for the future. Summoning the souls of those whose screams were not heard, whose demise occurred from violent hands, the women asserted their rights to help create a fairer, safer, and prosperous society both for themselves and subsequent generations. However, these women faced barricades and riot police sent by the government, fearing the disruption of patriarchal social norms, legislature, and human rights abuse.
As a young woman from Turkey, I know that gender inequality hides in all corners of my society like cobwebs and dust. Sometimes our most prevalent societal issues are not readily recognized. Currently, I believe that my government does not prioritize young womens’ mental and physical well-being. Our voices often become muffled as girls feel the lack of courage to raise their voices and secure their right to safe and meaningful participation in Turkish public decision-making processes. No matter where I go as a young woman from Turkey, every day, I observe that systemic gender oppression that thrives in public and private sectors and institutional power allows it to flourish within our culture. Everyday sexism and misogyny have bred fears amongst women and have carefully crafted inequality that defines and upholds dated gender norms. Like clockwork, we are policed for wearing too little or too much clothing. Turkish women don’t live fairytale lives and happily ever afters; our so-called protectors, our fathers, brothers, and government, perpetuate rape, murder, torture, and restoring family honor with our sacrificial blood.
As a future person in STEM, I am enthusiastic, however; I am standing at the crossroads wanting to uphold humanistic values and hold my government accountable for the violence they allow to continue. Therefore, I want to create a new social and academic movement that enables young girls to forge forward and create a future where they can flourish. Women of Turkey have a deep desire to dismantle the archaic pathologies that harm women from the cradle to the grave. Every time a Turkish woman experiences assault, she is haunted by her sisters' cries that no longer live with us. Hence, collectively we must establish a goal that equalizes gender, whether women or those in the LGBTQ+ community. Accordingly, I profess my commitment to providing solutions that create a safer world for tomorrow that extends the borders of Turkey. As 21st Century women, we should no longer feel our worth is tied to being dutiful to men or birthing a male son; our roles have far more prospects, and our potential is unlimited.