Transition and Quasi-roles of Women
Transitions are always painful. Pregnancy is a hard and painful period with all the nauseas, appetite, and pains. Puberty is also a very hard period with many ups and downs. Think about a country in this kind of situation. Turkey is having a transition between traditional system and modern system, and it is painful like pregnancy or puberty. This modernization process has both positive and negative ways for the society. One of its biggest effects is about women’s role in the society.
The biggest challenge for women in Turkey is the undefined and suppressed role of the women in the society because of the transition period. There are two main views about role of the women in the society: traditional and modern. The traditional view is based on cultural values. The modern view has a more modern and contemporary perspective. These two perspectives have their own systems, and they have many differences between them. In a traditional society, the woman is responsible of the housework and child rearing as a housewife. The man is responsible from financial gain and house holding. In a modern society on the other hand, women are equal to men, therefore women have the right to work just like men. Modern perspective has its own system that is suitable for women to work like men. They have different divisions of labor, social orders, economic systems, educational systems etc.
Turkey is neither of them. It has a strong traditional culture, but the system isn’t a traditional system. Even tough the system has many modern ways it isn’t modern either. The society is torn between these two systems, and women suffer from this the most. If a woman doesn’t work, financial problems start in the family, because the bottom wage is planned for an individual. It’s hardly enough for an ordinary family with children to get along. Unfortunately, many families are having great difficulties living in these conditions. If a woman does work on the other hand, other problems about care of the children, pregnancy, cooking and housework start to form. The family needs a kindergarten in their work place or a babysitter at home, but these aren’t common enough in Turkey even tough they are increasing. Many job owners prefer having male employees not to make a kindergarten at the workplace. Grandparents or other relatives also used to take care children in the past, but as the families get smaller and smaller by the effect of modernization, it’s getting much more rare.
The government is making new regulations about financial help for pregnancy and child caring, but they’re not developed enough either. Other things like food culture also effect the situation. Unlike fast-food culture, Turkish foods take much effort and a long time. Because of all these reasons, many women have to work and do housework at the same time. It needs a lot of effort and tenacity. My mother used to work and do housework at the same time, and it was exhausting for her. She used to go to work early, work for all day as a dentist, come home, cook, clean the house, and take care of us. This is the situation millions of women are facing in Turkey.
The society’s perception about women is another major problem related to this topic. Traditional perception criticizes women for not taking care of the children enough, and not being a good housewife. Its goal is to protect the traditional system. Liberal perception criticizes women for not defending their rights and not being a part of the modern system. Both sides are suppressing and criticizing women for the sake of their ideologies. They are trying impose women what they think is right for them. Instead of criticizing or suppressing women, we should find a better system for our society as a solution.
My goal isn’t to vilify one side and praise the other one. I rather try to be objective as possible and seek for the real problem. I think women’s role is undefined by the modernizing yet still half traditional system, and the two sides of the society suppress them. A better system can only be achieved by creating a beneficial and suitable for our society considering our ethics and values. Adopting a system from outside, or being stuck between two systems can’t be a solution.