The Woman Question and the End of Feminism

INTRODUCTION

If you ask me what the biggest problem in the world is, my answer is definitive: it is the gender difference between men and women, or, in today's terms, the "Woman Question." I know I am using a very bold statement. If you wish, let us begin to examine in depth the "Woman Question" that has remained unchanged for thousands of years until today.

Dear readers!

Actually, I didn't feel like titling the article "The Woman Question." However, this title has been used in all books and articles published in the last 200 years, that is, in the established literature, and discussions have revolved around this title. The correct title for this article should have been "Woman and the Emotional Void."

For the first time, the English philosopher Locke (1632-1704) brought up the rights of women to freedom and equality. Other philosophers who followed him also followed Locke's path with very general definitions.

ENGELS'S DEFINITION OF THE FAMILY

The Marxist philosopher Engels first seriously addressed the Woman Question in his book "The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State," written in 1884. In this comprehensive book, Engels mainly dealt with family structures in the early periods of human history. Engels found a parallel between the monogamous family form and "private property," and based the essence of his writing on this thesis.

According to Engels, ancient societies were matrilinear. Because in a society without monogamy, lineage had to be determined according to the mother. The concept of patrilinear kinship emerged with the advent of private property and inheritance law. In short, according to Engels, the emergence of modern monogamy was related to the problem of inheritance and property. According to Engels, the continuation of property and inheritance was the fundamental distinction between bourgeois marriage, where women remained dependent on men (patriarchal), and egalitarian working-class marriage.

Dear readers!

Up to this point, I have tried to give clues as to how the "Woman Question" in its general definition arose. I would like to list the problems women have experienced in the last 200 years:

1. Exposure to domestic violence
2. Experiencing discrimination (at home and at work)
3. Receiving low wages and working in low-wage jobs
4. Receiving lower wages than men doing the same job
5. Being deprived of the right to vote
6. Being forced into prostitution, i.e., trafficking of women
7. Lack of the right to divorce
8. Lack of the right to abortion
9. Being forced to have more children than desired or against one's will
10. Lack of inheritance rights
11. Lack of the right to own property (title deed)
12. Lack of the right to education
13. Lack of the right to benefit from healthcare services
14. Lack of the right to political representation
15. Lack of the right to maternity leave
16. Prohibition of working in the public sector
17. Lack of the right to enter into contracts
18. Women being subjected to sexual harassment
19. Lack of the right to choose one's clothing

Until today, when "the Woman Question" was roughly mentioned, the above points were understood, and social and political measures were implemented to solve them. Political parties tried and continue to try to win women's votes by promising to solve all or some of the above problems in their election campaigns, party programs, and statutes.

Meanwhile, from the beginning of the 20th century, a political and social wave called FEMINISM began to shake the whole world. The ideology and demands of feminism changed from year to year. They divided into dozens of groups within themselves. In the early days, feminists tried to raise awareness about the issues I listed above and make their voices heard. Their only desire was to have equal rights with men. I do not see the need to examine these in detail at the moment. Today, in most countries, most of the points listed above have either been incorporated into Constitutions or are controlled by legal regulations. Today, there are no serious issues left for the feminist movement to address. In the process, another problem has emerged, but not only feminists but all humanity is helpless in solving it.

Feminism experienced three waves: the classical liberal feminist movement in the late 19th century, the socialist feminist movement initiated by German Marxists Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) and Clara Zetkin in the early 20th century, and the radical feminist movement that rose after 1960.

Another important figure of the Marxist feminist movement is the German Marxist leader Clara Zetkin. Throughout her life, she wrote on issues such as women's suffrage and equal opportunities, and tried to develop the socialist women's movement by focusing on women's politics as much as she could.

Have you ever wondered what percentage of the political quota for women was in the Soviet Union, founded under the leadership of Lenin? There were no women in the Central Committee of the Soviet Union, which emerged with people having equal rights. The women's quota in the Communist Party was around 8% in 1981. This number became 13% in 1986. Although the facts were such, published reports showed the women's quota in the Central Committee and the Communist Party as 30%.

The indispensable demand imposed by radical feminists was the right to equal POLITICAL REPRESENTATION with men. They believed and continue to believe that if women governed the country, problems would decrease, and gender equality would only then be truly achieved. However, the realities do not prove them right.

Over time, political parties had to add women's quotas to their statutes and programs. Today, the women's quota is specified as a percentage in the statutes and programs of all political parties in Turkey. Radical feminists believed that gender equality, or in a sense, the "Woman Question," would be solved in this way. Some parties in Turkey even implemented the "Co-Chairmanship" system to demonstrate the importance they attach to women in terms of political representation. However, as you will see shortly, all these are superficial measures far from solving the Woman Question.

WHICH COUNTRIES TODAY HAVE THE HIGHEST PROPORTION OF WOMEN MPs?

Let's list the countries with the most women MPs in their parliaments:

1. Rwanda %61
2. Cuba %53
3. Bolivia %53
4. Mexico %48
5. Sweden %45

The ranking continues in this way. Among 192 countries, Turkey is in 117th place with a rate of 17.4%.

Dear Readers!

Up to this point, I have tried to explain the woman question and provided general information about women's rights. The real question is this: Is gender equality more developed in countries like Rwanda, Cuba, and Bolivia, which have the highest number of women MPs in their parliaments, compared to other countries? Unfortunately, research shows that this is not the case. In other words, women holding political power does not contribute to gender equality. So, where is the problem?

Let's assume that the parliament, institutions, and even the military of a country are entirely composed of women. In this case, would women be more dominant and powerful than men? Undoubtedly, despite being more advantageous in terms of management, women would still feel inferior and defeated in real life. In short, there is no direct correlation between gender equality and political representation. This is a deception. The formula for achieving true gender equality lies not in political power but in emotional power. So, what is emotional power?

THE MOTHER IS THE ONE WHO GIVES BIRTH TO THE CHILD AND CREATES EMOTION

Women and men, by their nature, have different physical tasks and functions. It is the mother who carries the baby in her womb for nine months. It is the mother who sees the baby as a part of her body. It is also the mother who sees the baby as the continuation of her own existence. When the baby is born, it is the mother who feeds it with her milk. The baby receives its first love from its mother. Whether a woman marries and has children or never marries, she carries this mission and reminder given to her by nature in her DNA: The laws of nature have placed more responsibility on women for the continuation of the human species. A woman wants the man to know and appreciate this gratitude, this sense that nature has placed more responsibility on her. This appreciation should be called the EMOTIONAL VOID.

For example, let's imagine a Swedish family. Let's assume the man of the house is not working. His wife, who is active in her career, returns to work after childbirth and maternity leave. She is elected as a Member of Parliament for a political party. If the husband does not take steps to fill the EMOTIONAL VOID that the woman needs, the woman, even if she is an MP, will feel like a "second-class citizen" compared to her unemployed husband, because the EMOTIONAL VOID in her heart remains unrequited. Unconsciously, the woman will carry a feeling of rejection and inferiority within her. It is certain that Melanie, the wife of US President Trump, whom we see on TV every day, is experiencing an EMOTIONAL VOID because she seems to be rejected by her husband. Her snobbish husband withholds the feeling of GRATITUDE, which is the woman's natural right. You can observe thousands of similar examples around you.

I would like to recount a memory from my childhood. We had a shepherd. He was loyal to his work, obedient, and at peace with himself. Since his family lived in the village, he did not have the chance to see his wife and children every day. Our barns were next to our house in the center of Iğdır, away from the village. One day, my mother assigned the shepherd to bring sheep dung from the village. We rented a horse-drawn cart. I went along with him.

The shepherd got off the cart at a suitable place in the city center and bought some provisions for his family. We continued on our way. We arrived at the village. The shepherd wanted to see his family first. After placing sugar, tea, and other provisions in front of the house, he carefully took out the shoes and dress fabric he had bought for his wife from a bag and handed them to her. The woman was not expecting this. Her eyes sparkled with joy. She held the gifts in her hand, shy but proud. The children gathered around their father. He had bought sweets for them too.

When we left, the woman was so happy that despite the difficulties her shepherd husband faced, she was overjoyed that he showed gratitude and did not forget her EMOTIONAL VOID. I knew very well that that woman would somehow raise her five children with love. For me, this is what GENDER EQUALITY is. The rest is mere talk and stories.

As society develops economically, it can close the gaps I listed above, but it cannot close the feeling of the EMOTIONAL VOID. This deficiency cannot be remedied by legal regulations either. Whether the family is rich or poor, if the husband cannot appreciate the feeling of gratitude his wife needs, it is meaningless to seek gender equality there.

The phenomenon of the EMOTIONAL VOID has another harmful effect. After a while, the woman will have to struggle with depression. More women visit psychiatrists in Europe and America. A mother experiencing an EMOTIONAL VOID will slowly take revenge on her children and withhold her LOVE from them. There is only one reality awaiting all children who cannot grow up with a mother's love: restlessness, failure, and finally depression.

By obtaining the rights listed above, women and men approach each other legally but move away emotionally. This paradoxical situation is quite difficult to explain. For example, before the 20th century, young people did not have the stress of finding a career and a job, so life was more family-oriented and continued in a single village, town, or city. Wages or salaries were not essential for an average life. However, today's youth, who are approaching each other in terms of legal rights, are forced to move away from their families in a society focused on education and career, that is, money, and become emotionally distant from their families and adopt a more fragile structure. For now, psychiatry is trying to fill this emotional void or deficiency. However, the question of how long this will continue becomes important.

CONCLUSION

The true magic of gender equality, which has been debated in all its dimensions for over 200 years, lies in the hands of men. Unless men want to and are willing to fill their wives' emotional void, gender equality turns into a bland, tasteless mathematical calculation. The feminist movement has collapsed in this sense because control is in the hands of men.

I believe that the shepherd's wife is much luckier than Melanie, the wife of US President Trump, in terms of addressing the EMOTIONAL VOID and achieving gender equality. It is necessary to develop feelings of gratitude, love, and empathy to address the EMOTIONAL VOID, the biggest problem of the century. Only then can we talk about gender equality. However, I do not know what the formula for this is. Undoubtedly, humanity will have to struggle with this emotional void for a long time.