Bury the woman without leaving an inheritance

We used to boast about being one of the first countries in the world to grant women the right to vote and be elected… In those lands where Atatürk said, "The Republic is equality between men and women"…

What have we become now?

First, they quietly placed a regulation before us…

And with a fancy name: "Agreed Sharing"

What does this "Agreed Sharing" mean?

When sharing an inheritance in the land registry, the notary is removed from the process. Now, if heirs make an agreement among themselves, no one oversees it.

But this regulation will actually harm women the most. For example, if a woman waives her inheritance rights, no one will ask, "Did this woman truly consent, is she under threat, or was she pressured?"

It will be covered up with the phrase "She consented," which we are accustomed to hearing in cases of child abuse.

Do you know what this means for a woman who is particularly subjected to violence or under threat? It means sitting at a table, signing a paper, and being forced to waive not her family ties, but her inheritance. Moreover, this will be called "free will"!

A legal back door has been opened to seize even the only economic security a woman has, the few pennies left by her father, or even the house left by her grandfather.

The Federation of Women Associations of Turkey is shouting at the top of its lungs: "Women already lack equal bargaining power, especially if they are under economic and social pressure!" But it is in vain. The state is slipping away by saying, "I am not a notary," ignoring the pressure within the family. Property rights, protection of women—it all remains on paper.

Unfortunately, women in Turkey are so undervalued that they are not even allowed to make decisions about their own bodies.

The new scandal is the abortion issue…

According to the law, it is a woman's right to terminate unwanted pregnancies within the legal timeframe.

But in practice, this right is also being taken away.

The Turkish Medical Association says: "A woman goes to the hospital, requests an abortion in accordance with the regulations, but is rejected. There is no justification." In other words, it is a right according to the law, but a de facto ban. The TMA states that it has reported the complaints it received to the General Directorate of Health Services of the Ministry of Health. No one knows on what grounds they are rejected.

Moreover, access to birth control methods is also restricted. Free contraceptive methods are not provided. A woman cannot protect herself, gets pregnant, and cannot terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

The issue is not the number of children; the issue is the elimination of a woman's right to make decisions about her own life. The sole decision-making authority regarding her body, her womb, and her life is becoming the state and the male-dominated mentality.

Taking her inheritance away at the table, turning her away at the hospital, shaping her life with pressure in the neighborhood and the family… All of these are the result of a "possessive" mentality.

Do not forget… Atatürk granted the women of this country the right to vote and be elected in 1934. Today, in 2025 Turkey, a woman cannot even claim her own inheritance, nor can she have a say over her own body. While we were expected to move forward in the 90 years that have passed, we are tumbling backward, into darkness, into a medieval mentality.

But no matter what they do, women will not get up from that table, will not turn back from that hospital, and will not let go of that inheritance document. And let it be known: The woman who laughs, who seeks her rights, and who takes to the streets will not write her name on this country's tombstone, but on its future.