If you love them, go get married, I think!

On February 14, a tweet appeared on my feed. When I saw the post made from the official account of the Ministry of Family and Social Services, I was surprised at first. I thought the ministry's official account had been hacked.

The following call was made from the ministry's account:

“If you love them, go get married, I think!”

This could only be an April Fool's joke. In an economy where the minimum wage remains below the hunger threshold, where the minimum wage doesn't even cover the rent, where couples can barely afford a tea and a toast when they get together, and where they go into debt just to pay off their credit cards, did the ministry think people weren't getting married out of choice?

Was it not known that we are facing the bitter reality that even young people who have graduated from good universities and know several foreign languages struggle to find jobs, and that youth unemployment is approaching 40 percent?

With the loss of self-confidence, anxiety, withdrawal from social life, depression, and fear created by the anxiety of job hunting, which young person could feel the desire to get married?

And most importantly, is love alone enough to get married?

What about self-confidence? The sense of having the responsibility required to build a family?

In an environment where the price of tea has increased 50-fold and the price of a simit 20-fold over the last 20 years, why would young people, who spend sleepless nights with anxiety about the future, take out a 150 thousand TL loan with a 48-month maturity just to take a step into an uncertain future, just to get married?

The marriage loan project aimed at getting young people married is nice, but it is not rational.

Can it not be seen that the cost of a marriage—from the wedding organization to the wedding dinner, the wedding dress and tuxedo, to the bride's hair and makeup (not even including rent, security deposits, appliances, and furniture)—is not less than 2 million TL?

In today's economic conditions, a 150 thousand TL loan is only enough for the wedding dress and tuxedo.

My humble advice is to turn your eyes to the increasing divorce rates in recent years instead of trying to get young people married.

To investigate the causes of increasing violence against women and children within the family. To examine the impact of poverty within the family.

To research the source of youth suicides.

To give credit support to the children of women whose right to life has been taken away—what we call preventable deaths—for example... How wonderful that would be.

How painful it is that in this country, there are thousands of children whose fathers are murderers and whose mothers are in the grave.

I wish

Everything in Turkey were as rosy as to say, “If you love them, go get married, I think!”...