The Story of Woman

Today is MARCH 8, International Women's Day…

If we still feel the need to celebrate "Women's Day" in the 21st century on this weary, 4.5-billion-year-old planet, then we must tell the Story of Woman.

In a world where civilization, the rule of law, and regulations concerning women have failed to resolve discrimination, humiliation, and the phenomenon of "FITRAT" (innate nature), it is necessary to embark on a journey through history to find the root cause of this subjugation.

Let us begin by describing Woman in the ancient era to those who link the origins of this subjugation to FITRAT.

The reality revealed by mythological phenomena, relics, epics, and limited historical inscriptions demonstrates that the disparagement of women and the fact that they have paid the price with their lives is not a destiny story related to their creation.

The formation of matriarchal societies coincides with the earliest periods when humans began to live together.

It is known that during this period, Woman played a superior political role, possessed greater power in public life than men, and was the pioneer of society.

Evidence of this is clearly visible in the belief systems of that era as well.

Findings from Indian and Greek mythologies regarding the matriarchal period reveal the power and numerical superiority of Mother Goddesses.

We see that Mother Goddesses were positioned to represent both female and male power together. For example, Artemis represents fertility and warriorhood, while Athena represents wisdom, science, art, fertility, and warriorhood simultaneously.

It is possible to see this belief system, in which women were sanctified, in the Shamanism belief of the ancient Turks. In this belief system, which spread over a vast geography, Shamanism carried with it not only a belief system but also a philosophy of life and acceptances that considered women sacred. The fact that the first Shamans were women stems from the acceptance of women's biological and spiritual superiority. Even the fact that male Shamans participated in rituals wearing women's clothing is considered proof of the power of women.

In pre-Islamic Turkish States (Göktürks, Uyghurs), there was no gender discrimination. While the Chinese did not give names to girls and addressed them with numbers, the Indians considered them the property of their fathers, and the Arabs buried them alive, the Turks did not discriminate between girls and boys.

Woman was accepted as being in a higher position than man in the eyes of God, and she was viewed not as a sexual object, but as an extraordinarily high being.

Women had equal rights with men regarding inheritance, marriage, and divorce.

In marriage, the father would not give an answer to the groom's side without obtaining his daughter's consent, and monogamy was accepted as the basis.

The Khan and the Khatun (Queen) had a say together in state affairs and agreements.

According to Chinese history, the Khatun would act as a deputy for the Khan, mediate in political disputes, preside over courts, and participate in war.

This is how the Story of Woman on earth began.

So, what happened that women were later brought down from the heavens and cast to the ground?

Historians reveal that the first major transformation took place with the Migration of Tribes (350-800). During this period, the emergence of a patriarchal social structure became inevitable.

With settled life, the emergence of property rights, the protection of land, and raids into new geographies through wars increased the need for the physical strength of men. The social role of women gradually declined.

By then, the Mother Goddesses in mythology had begun to yield their places to male Gods, and Mother Goddesses had transformed into deities of "earth" and "fertility."

The existence of women began to be spoken of increasingly as "helpers" and "servants," and in the Story of Woman, woman had begun to descend from the heavens to the earth.

However, the greatest transformation began with the ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS.

THE STORY OF EVE AND THE SUBJUGATION OF WOMAN

In Judaism and Christianity, Woman was identified with Eve. Eve, the first representative of the female lineage, was chosen as the reason for mankind's expulsion from Paradise. Her succumbing to the Devil was called the original sin. Woman was considered a demonic force.

Thus, not only Eve but all women were condemned by a divine decree.

In the Jewish faith, the female body was an object of ritual impurity because it was not circumcised like men. Because she was not considered a direct addressee of the commandments of the Torah and religious rules, she was also "religiously deficient" because she was humiliated.

For this reason, she was exempted from a significant portion of temple worship. This divine subjugation of women was made the justification for her entry under male dominance.

Marriage was tied to an agreement made between the father and the husband, and it was deemed appropriate for girls to marry at age 12 to prevent them from going astray. Women were deprived of the right to inheritance and divorce, and were given into the ownership of their fathers when single, and their husbands when married.

The fact that the name of the tribe itself is "Children of Israel" is proof of the erasure of women.

The duties of women were limited to giving birth to children, ensuring the continuation of the lineage, loyalty, protecting the morality of society, and contributing to the family economy.

In the Christian faith, woman was the symbol of original sin, just as in the Torah. Even the expression in the Torah, "I will cause you pain even while giving birth," was accepted in Christianity. Thus, women were sentenced starting from their birth.

Jesus was against divorce, and marrying a divorced woman was considered the crime of adultery. It was believed that woman was created for man. Even a woman speaking in the community was not welcomed. The understanding that "the best woman is the woman who knows how to be silent" was adopted.

Church Fathers made the most humiliating comments about women. They frequently emphasized that women should be ashamed of being women, that women possessed a lower intellect, understanding, and an incomplete soul, and that they could not govern others.

In the Middle Ages, women were burned as "witches." Even after the Reformation movement, their rights were restricted. However, they began to take part in social life in the 19th century.

The only woman whom Christianity placed in a different status from Eve and all other women, and whom it sanctified, was the Virgin Mary.

We see that Islam also shares in the common belief of the Abrahamic religions regarding women.

The most concrete proof that women are not considered equal to men was the verse: "Men are the managers of women, because Allah has made some of them superior to others with degrees" (Nisa 34). The phrase in the same verse, "Advise the women you fear will be stubborn and rebellious, separate from them in beds, and beat them," unfortunately became the legitimate justification for violence against women.

In addition to regulations such as a woman's share of inheritance being half that of a man, the testimony of two women being equal to one man, polygamy, and the advantages granted to men in divorce, the fact that women are considered religiously deficient because they cannot pray or fast during their menstrual periods due to their biological characteristics, as in other religions, was also presented as evidence that women are not equal to men.

The Abrahamic religions had a common discourse against women.

The definition of woman as a being who is deficient, unintelligent, weak, prone to sin, and has the potential to succumb to the devil compared to man, and the emphasis on male superiority, took hold in societies as a common cultural acceptance.

This belief affected not only men but also women. Thus, Woman lost the honorable position she held in the early ages of history.

The dogmas that civilized societies dared to overcome, and developments in education and the social division of labor, were effective in the acceptance of the understanding that women are equal to men. The hegemony of the Church, broken by the Western Enlightenment, enabled women to regain their power and dignity.

In our country, the rights provided to women by the Turkish Enlightenment, which began with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, before many Western countries, were interrupted by the stalling of the Enlightenment Revolution.

It was mostly left to women in male-dominated geographies to protect the door that the Women's Revolution opened for Turkish women.

Even though they are granted equal rights by law, resilient women's movements initiated to overcome the darkness created by dogmas and cultural acceptances are struggling to achieve results. Woman continues to be, as in the lines of Nazım Hikmet;

"She who dies as if she never lived, whose place at our table is after our ox"....

Turkish women are struggling to overcome the dogmatic acceptances supported by primitive and bigoted organizations, the hegemony of religious sects, and credentialed ignorance, which were initiated and have grown stronger with the transition to multi-party life.

The role of structures that legitimize the break from the Republic's Women's Revolution and gain political power cannot be denied in the fact that those who consider women their own property and sacrifice them to a perverted understanding of morality still maintain their existence.

It will be to restart the SOCIAL MENTALITY CHANGE, which is as important as legal regulations and the raising of women's consciousness, with the values of the Republic.

Re-Enlightenment is the only path to salvation for Woman.

On March 8, International Women's Day, with my gratitude and appreciation to the Great Atatürk, who set out to rewrite the "Story of Woman"....