Turkey

I've been in Turkey for exactly a month now.
It has been an emotionall taxing process for me. The first three weeks I felt somewhat physically ill from culture shock. One of the first things one finds shocking is the level of gender inequality. Patriarchy in this country, just as any Islamic country, reigns supreme. Men, of all ages, roam the streets usually in groups of three, four in that boastful, confident taking charge of everything and anything in their way. Women are almost always with family, or with boyfriend/spouse. It is a rarity to encounter a strong, independent woman, alone, confident free. By all mannerisms, it is clear that women are socialized and conditioned into being passive, uncritical vessels for the needs of men- perhaps even the greatest cheerleaders of patriarchy.

Surely, had it not been for the Turkey's revolutionary leader Kemal Ataturk in the 1920s, and 30s, women's rights would have fared worse. I am not an expert on the issue at hand, but I'll venture to say that Turkey would have had precisely the same fate as its Middle Eastern neighbors.

I realize more than ever how fortunate we are as Western women to have the rights (and consequently respect/dignity that comes with rights - men in Turkey treat women with as much respect as the poor dogs in the street), but we certainly have a long more way to go in equality.
With the present state of affairs in the US, achieving true equality seems more fantasy than reality.

All is not bad. I am presently sitting atop a balcony overlooking mountains whilst my ears pick up the songs of crickects. There is a lone cat slowly making her way to the cement home across from the cobbled street. Tonight the chirping of crickets is interrupted by a distant, and yet loud enough, sound of drums which is typically played in Turkish villagean weddings. I can't rejoice; I am thinking of the limitations, obligations, responsibilties, oppression that await the bride.