March 8th is actually a mirror.
On that day, societies ask themselves the question: Are women really equal?
This question is not new. It has been asked in many parts of the world for nearly two hundred years.
Sometimes it appeared in the pen of a thinker.
Sometimes he spoke in a square.
Sometimes at the gate of a factory
At the turn of the 20th century, women workers in textile factories in the United States worked long hours and received low wages. In 1908, they went on strike in New York against these conditions. A few years later, in 1911, 146 workers, mostly young women, died in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York, a tragedy that became a symbol of women workers’ struggle.
The factory doors were locked.
Escape routes were inadequate.
The fire killed 146 workers, mostly young women.
This tragedy was not only seen as a work accident. It became a symbol of working conditions and the exploitation of women workers.
It was during these years that the German activist Clara Zetkin proposed an international day to make women's struggle visible.
Over time, March 8 became a symbolic day for the struggle for women's rights in many parts of the world. In 1975, the United Nations officially recognized this day as International Women's Day.
But this struggle did not emerge in a day. Behind it was an intellectual debate that spanned over two hundred years.
In the 18th century, the English philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft put forward a very simple but powerful idea: Women are not less intelligent than men. They are just less educated.
Nature is not the problem.
The problem is the opportunity.
Over time, these ideas formed the basis of the movement called “feminism”.
In its simplest form, feminism is the idea that women should have equal rights and opportunities with men. In other words, it does not argue that women are superior to men, but that they should be equal citizens in society.
In the 19th century, this idea left the books and became a political demand. Women in Europe and America began to fight for the right to vote.
Today, going to the polls seems like an ordinary right. But in those days, women's voting was seen as a demand that would shake the order in many countries.
Women marched.
Arrested.
He went on hunger strikes.
And finally the political system changed.
By the 20th century, the debate had moved to another dimension. It was no longer only about suffrage. Women's place in the workplace, wage inequality and social roles began to be discussed.
The French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir summarized this debate in a single sentence.
You are not born a woman, you become a woman.
In other words, womanhood is not only a biological reality. It is a process shaped by the roles imposed by society.
The roots of the women's movement in Turkey are older than one might think. Women's magazines started to be published in the last period of the Ottoman Empire. Women were writing articles on many subjects ranging from education to working life.
Nezihe Muhiddin advocated women's participation in politics.
Halide Edib Adıvar had become a powerful public figure in both literature and politics.
Another important threshold was crossed in the Republican era. With the reforms carried out under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, women gained legal rights. In 1934, women were given the right to vote and be elected. This date is earlier than many European countries.
But it is not just the law.
Look at Turkey today.
Women's labor force participation rate is about thirty-five percent. In OECD countries, this rate is over sixty percent.
The rate of women deputies in Parliament is around twenty percent.
If a country cannot include half of its human resources in the production process, it is actually throwing away half of its own power.
Some countries realized this years ago. In Scandinavian countries, childcare is widespread. Parental leave is shared between mothers and fathers. Mechanisms are in place to increase women's representation in politics.
The result is obvious.
Women's labor force participation is high.
Their economies are strong.
But in Turkey, the debate still revolves elsewhere.
Is feminism right or wrong?
But the question that needs to be asked is this.
Why doesn't a country use half of its own power?
Because the issue is not feminism.
It is a matter of the country.
The true strength of a society is not only measured by its economy.
It is not only measured by its army.
The true strength of a society lies in how free its women can live.
A country that leaves its women behind actually leaves itself behind.
March 8 reminds us of this very thing.