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Race, Gender,
and Collective Schizophrenia in Turkey
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Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç's recent remarks that "There is no racism in Turkey" and "When we look at Europe and other countries we see how far behind us they are and we feel really sorry" sounded rather like a Saudi prince saying "There is no gender discrimination in the Kingdom" or "When we look at Europe and other countries we see how far behind us they are in gender equality and we feel sorry." In a country where Hitler is almost as popular and publicly praised as he used to be in Germany eight decades ago, (while minors get prosecuted for insulting the president), and polls reveal extremely xenophobic trends, Mr. Arınç prefers not to see what has become a Turkish pastime. True, in democracies individuals have a right to say whatever they want at the expense of sounding weird. But apparently there is a tendency in Turkey to abuse that right.
Ms. Erdoğan rejects any link between Islam and gender inequality in most Muslim countries. But how does she justify the inequality between the two sexes when it comes to inheritance, in light of the Muslim holy book that commands that "God decrees a will for the benefit of your children; the male gets twice the share of the female"? Simple. Ms. Erdoğan, the promoter of women's rights, said the following: They ask why daughters are given lower shares from a will while sons receive more. But when we look closely, we see that men are assigned the responsibility for bringing the bread home, while women are not. So naturally giving higher inheritance shares to men is normal, fair and righteous. But what if the male and female children of the family decide not to marry and take the responsibility to earn a family's living? What if the male child prefers to spend his money on gambling while his widow sister has to raise four children?
Hats off to Mr. Mahçupyan for admitting, in a recent speech in Gent, Belgium, that Turkey is not a democracy and it never has been. Instead, he said, it is simply democratizing itself. His boss, who claims that Turkey is an "advanced democracy," needs an explanation. But beyond that little disagreement, Mr. Mahçupyan's other remarks that most AKP supporters are aware that there is corruption but vote for AKP because they prefer "corruption to a coup" is more than problematic. Mr. Mahçupyan admits that the AKP is corrupt, but apparently thinks there would be a coup d'etat if Turkey is not ruled by the AKP. Or he thinks that the AKP's supporters think if its corrupt rule ends it would amount to a coup. These are not signs of a sober analysis. Why would it be a coup if voters pushed a corrupt government from power? How bizarre! Turkey is an advanced democracy and at the same time it is not a democracy. Fortunately, there is no racism in Turkey, but Google produces 12.2 million results if one types "Turkey" and "racism." Meanwhile, Turkey's pro-women's rights NGO thinks female children should inherit less than their male siblings. Clinical psychiatry at once, please! Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a columnist for the Turkish daily Hürriyet and a fellow at the Middle East Forum. |
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