The Integrity of Violence Against Women and Violence Spiral?

Our left-wing men are also clinging to their privileges that look like patches on their faces and bodies. Let the theoretical and philosophical remarks be left to them unless they face themselves frankly.

This year, November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, has a different meaning for me, perhaps because of the blow dealt to the Istanbul Convention. There were also those whose protests were artistic but thought-provoking. This is a country where our rights are being gradually reduced, meanwhile, the insidious and open forms of violence go out with a sword and say, ‘I wanted to kill someone. I chose a woman because she is vulnerable.’ Isn’t even that kind of thought terrifying? Where do they get this courage? Violence is based on norms, moral values, and a number of other values. But it’s mostly gender-based in this country.

Why November 25?

November 25 marks the anniversary of the brutal murder of the Mirabal Sisters in the Dominican Republic. Their murder caused a great reaction in the Dominican Republic. The resistance movement gained strength, and after a year the dictatorship was overthrown.

In this sense, the Mirabal Sisters also deserve respect for another matter. Not only with this subject’s sad side, but also because they contributed significantly to the overthrow of the dictatorship. They should also be referred to as democracy and freedom fighters.

Thoughts On Violence Against Women Day

Datça Women’s Platform, which I participated in commemorating this day, brought to the fore the stories of violence against women (even the atrocities suffered by a few men while protecting them) in a local Demokrasi Evi (Democracy House). Salute to the efforts of the women who made efforts! During the activities during the day, a tree in Cumhuriyet Square was declared a monument tree by the Municipality on behalf of this day. It is a pity that that violence has spread here as well. This monumental tree was dedicated to Tuğba, a woman from Cumalı village who was killed at the age of 24 after being subjected to male violence many times. Her mother carried her picture around her neck throughout the day, saying, ‘I’m not dead. ‘I’ve been killed’. I can’t tell you how painfully she carried the message. While many of us had a hard time even looking at it, I shuddered as I listened to Banu’s story of violence.

What is happening on the men’s front?

I tried to watch the events in Turkey, even from a distance, across the country. As a result of the stories I heard, I could not write for a week… 

Middle East geography is known as one of the places where patriarchy is strongest in gender studies. So much that in what the anthropologist feminist Deniz Kandiyoti defines as the ‘Bargaining with Patriarchy’, women are sometimes also can be a building block of patriarchy. Therefore, ‘male domination’ should not be used instead of ‘patriarchy’, as I have emphasized and claimed.

However, doesn’t patriarchy directly affect men’s lives negatively? It directly concerns men, from militarism to equal sharing in business and economy. But why don’t they make an effort to collapse patriarchy? Why isn’t there a critical masculinity group in every neighborhood, in every school, in every hospital, in every prison, in every market or in the agora on this land?

My eyes have searched a lot to see if there will be men with different discourses this year.

I’ve heard the ‘Patriarchal Declaration of Shame’ rhetoric. A few men said, ‘It is my call to men: We should get beaten up this time. I’m ashamed of this situation.’ I hope there are some who are not a flash in the pan. In the dialogue I had with some of them, I asked if they had any permanent work. They said, ‘We tried in the past. Group work is not permanent. I am in favor of focusing on myself.’ However, we stand with men who have been subjected to violence as a result of male violence. We also make them visible. We are aware that violence against women is part of a big spiral. Language, brain, body, street, home, workplace, school, hospital, prison, kitchen, bed, plate, field, etc.

From Social Violence to Violence Against Women

Let’s remember that: Humans are social beings, and everything is socially shaped. Therefore, it is possible to be objective about a subject. However, impartiality is not possible. Because the deconstruction of masculinity fed by social norms can be achieved by seeing the parts of the whole.

Some of the men who dedicate themselves to the change of society also say, ‘This issue of violence is very complex. There is also a narcotic situation in it,’ and they try not to solve the problem, but to show the complexity even more complicated. Some intense revolutionaries are in a ‘Die, if necessary, we will give your rights when there is a revolution. We are thinking about deeper issues’ position. Masculinity has been preserved in leftism in the West and East of the world, from India to America. It is also called the male Left. It still perpetuates the left’s hypocrisy about sexual politics. You can find a number of studies on this subject. For example, Robin Morgan published the pamphlet Goodbye to all That in 1970. Our left-wing men are also clinging to their privileges that look like patches on their faces and bodies. Let the theoretical and philosophical remarks be left to them unless they face themselves frankly. I don’t think they contributed to the freedom of the world.

Not a single man seems to be in favor of putting critical masculinity on a political basis and moving forward. It will happen again, but we feminists appreciate those who make permanent progress and effort, and we place them in our environments. In short, the more we can embarrass insincere men, the better. Those who already blush are ashamed.