WOMEN IN DANGER
I am sixteen years old today. I still see myself as a little girl, still in need of a hug from my mother. Yet, there is one horror that makes me feel all too mature: fear of sexual abuse every second I am walking on the street by myself. The biggest challenge for women and girls like me in my country is the possibility of becoming the next faceless sexual abuse victim in Turkey.
Am I overreacting because I am a girl? The majority of men in my country will believe so. Yet, the proof speaks for itself: According to research conducted by the Human Rights Association, a woman becomes a sexual abuse or male violence victim in every four hours in Turkey. Another study by the cooperation of Hacettepe University and the Ministry of Family and Social Policies in 2014 was conducted in 78 cities in Turkey, and revealed the fate of women in Turkey: 38% of all women face a physical/sexual violence in some time in their lives. 9% of girls (below age 15) are victims of sexual assault. And all of these percentages are based on minority of women who had reported such cases, whereas 89% refused to report their status. Considering the ‘invisible’ majority of 89%, these statistical results represent a very little part of the reality. I, a female living in Turkey, could see how much I underestimated this gender terror after my research.
Looking at such violations of women rights, why don’t the women in Turkey step up? The answer is simple: Tradition. Tradition in Turkey has never been women-friendly since the beginning of the history, and the tradition surprisingly managed to reach today with only a few modifications. Our traditional proverbs are excellent to show the value of women in our society: “He who does not beat his daughter up regrets,” or “The best woman is the one who stays at home”. The dictum of our president speaks for itself: “Women and men are not equal; this is against the nature”. The everyday-news of women raped and killed in their houses, offices, busses should not be shocking upon the perception of ‘gender inequality’ of the one person who has the most power of influencing Turkey’s citizens. As Assoc. Prof. Dr. Burhanettin Kaya has stated during an interview for the newspaper Hürriyet, “Those who use violence against women are not mentally ill. They are people among us, who see the power of harming women as normal. Because, from the moment a male enters social life, he grows up with the perception of dominating females.”
Now we know the root of the inequality of genders: In Turkey, neither women nor men know that they are born, and die, as equals. A gender education based on the simplest human rights draws the line between a pervert and a person. This is why individuals should be educated starting from the earliest ages. In middle and high school, education should be used to widen the student’s perspective on gender inequality, demolishing any segregation between sexes. Tradition, which is the root of the violence to women, is based on religious biases. In my country, Islam is displayed as the sacred source, which gives men the right to ‘oppress’ and ‘use’ women! An education program that will be used in schools around Turkey must start by contradicting this religion-based illogic of worth difference between sexes. Once the religious biases are destroyed, a whole new logic should be built on human rights. It is easy to say, hard to perform… But, why do I believe the possibility of such a system’s success? Us students spend more time in school with teachers than we do with our parents. Don’t you think it is more likely for us to be influenced from our academic life than the little time we have at home? If we could learn math or physics (concepts most of us have never learned about at home), why wouldn’t we learn equality in school as well?
Today, as I am walking on a street in my country alone, I turn my head frantically to see if a pervert is approaching. And the only reason I still force myself to walk on those streets, and not staying at home, is my hope. I know, if students are taught how to be human in all schools and at all ages; one day, a girl will have the luxury of walking on the streets eyes closed.