Women in the Ottoman Empire...

I would say that women in the Ottoman Empire were second-class citizens, but,

In reality, they were not even citizens.

Murad II, who ascended the throne in 1421, established the first harem as an Ottoman ruler.

In the Ottoman Empire, women were confined to the harem.

In 1451, Mehmed the Conqueror banned women from entering cream shops. Just in case they might encounter a man and arouse lust in the cream shop. Much like how they say today that licking ice cream arouses lust.

Selim I banned men from wandering in places where women carried water.

By the time of the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, women had been confined to the home and, beyond being a human being, had become an object. Because in this period, women were practically turned into slaves.

In later times, this confinement to the home became such that even Christian and Jewish women were affected by it. They too were forced to cover themselves when going outside.

It was not actually very difficult for Christian women to adopt the veil and the face covering. In fact, the veil was already a Christian tradition and had passed into Islamic culture from them. In particular, the idea of marginalizing and degrading women held by the Christian Apostle Saint Paul had also become influential in Islam.

The Sultans' acceptance of Persian traditions in the palace pushed women into the darkest depths of the harem.

As the Sultans condemned women to the harem, the subjects did not refrain from locking women behind cages. No longer was there the Turkish woman standing beside her husband, her man; instead, an Ottoman female figure had been created, locked behind veils and cages like a slave to her master.

If a woman had to go out on the street out of necessity, she had to use a veil. Furthermore, she could not wear flashy long collars over the veils, nor could she use ribbons.

By the year 1725, it was forbidden for women to go out on the street wearing the 'yemeni' (headscarf) used in Anatolia. But the Anatolian woman did not pay much attention to this ban. Yet, even in Anatolia, a woman could not use a decorated headscarf. Sewing such dresses was also forbidden. The tailor who sewed these dresses would be exiled.

Mahmud I, who ascended the throne in 1730, banned women from boarding the same boat as men.

You could share the same pillow, but you could not board the same boat.

In 1752, to prevent lovers from meeting, women were also banned from entering public parks and promenades. You could go for a picnic with other men, but you could not go with your family. It was also forbidden for women to ride in a carriage with their husbands. A city map was even prepared for this.

The bans regarding women were not satisfied with just the black veil. During the reign of Osman III, a woman could not go out on the street without wearing a thick black veil. Even cats and dogs could go outside, but women could not.

Women first began working in the Bursa silk factory in 1872. But while men received full salaries, women received only half the salary of men.

Walking around in public with a 'çarşaf' (chador) was also forbidden. In other words, it was actually forbidden for women to walk around at all. In 1757, Sultan Mustafa III banned women from going out on the street and walking around in any way, shape, or form.

Let alone walking on foot, women could not even pass through places like Beyazıt, Aksaray, or Şehzadebaşı by carriage.

Until the beginning of the 1900s, men and women could not come side-by-side in public transportation vehicles. Singing, going to the theater, and engaging in trade were already forbidden.

Furthermore, it was forbidden for women to be present in certain places in groups.

A man who caught his wife committing adultery could kill his wife, but a woman who caught her husband committing adultery could not kill him. If she killed him, she would be punished.

Between 1827 and 1829, the first census was conducted in the Ottoman Empire. Donkeys and men were counted, but women were not. Because even if it was an official, asking for the name of a man's wife was a cause for murder.

"How can you ask about someone else's honor?"

In the Ottoman Empire, girls were married off when they reached the age of 15. Whoever appeared before them was considered "fate, destiny." A 60-year-old old man could appear before a 15-year-old girl.

She had to be given away.

If the girl was younger than 15, there were "witnesses" for this. In exchange for a sum of money and in the presence of an imam, false testimony would be given that the girl was 15 or older, and the situation would be resolved.

"Sir, women were the same everywhere in the world at those dates, etc.";

No, sir. They were not. Open and read the traveler Ibn Battuta, who traveled all over Anatolia in the 13th century. He says of the Turkish woman that "in some places in the village, she was superior to the men."

Open and read Turkish History. Read about Tomyris.

Read about Hayme Hatun. How she brought the Oghuz Tribe from the Euphrates to Domaniç and Söğüt.

"Even cats and dogs could walk on the street alone, but women could not," we say; understand this now. In the Ottoman Empire, a woman was a slave, a servant, a co-wife, a concubine.

When Atatürk came, when the Republic came, women were saved from slavery.

"As a woman, do not forget... You were a servant in the Ottoman Empire, you became a person thanks to Atatürk and the Republic..."