Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1888-02-02
Women In Turkey. {.

women IN turkey.
Our knowledge of the position Of women
among the Mohammedans is derived from
the Koran, and Moslem practice. Mohamme.
dana cannot and do not deny that woman
have souls, but their brutal treatment of
them has naturally led to this view. The
Caliph Omar said that women are worth.
less creatures and soil mems rsputations."
The Koran says: "Men are superior to
women on account Of their qualities with
which God has gifted one above the other,
and on account OF the outlay they make
from their substance for them; virtuous
women are obedient. but chide those for
whose refractoriness ye have cause 10 fear
end scourge then.' The Interpretation Of
this last Injunction being left to the indi
vidual believer. it is carried out with terri
ble severity. The soourging anG beating
of wives is one of the worst features of Mos
lem domestic life Itis degraded and de-
grading practice, and having the sanction
of the Koran, will be INDUCED in Without
rebuke as long as Lslamism as system aud
faith prevails in the world. Happily
for the poor women, the husbands do
not generally beat them so as to imr
peril their lives, in case their own rel.
atives reside in the vicinity, lest the ex-
crucisting screams of the sufferer should
reach tbs ears of her parents and bring tho
husband into Disgrace. But where there is
20 fear of interference or of discovery the
blows and kicks are applied in the most
merciess and barbarous manner. Women
ere gilled in this way, and no outsider
knows the cause. Moslems suppose that
there will be no place in the Moslem Para
disc for women, SO their place will be taken
10y the seventy TWO bright'eyed hourls, or
damsels of Paradise Mohemmed once ssid
that when he took view OF Paradise be
saw tbs majority Of its inhabitants to be
the poor, and when he looked down into
he'll he sew the greater part OF the wretches
confined there to be women. Yet he poai-
lively promised his followers that the mean
est in Paradise would have eighty thousand
servants, seventy.two wives of the Hours,
besides the wives ne had in this world.
Among the Turks divorce Is mere mat.
ter of caprice The Koran eays (Sura i'll
You may divorce your wife twice and
take them back again. But if the hus-
bond divorce her third time it is not
lawful to take her again, until she shall
have teen actually married to another
husband, and then divorced by him."
l have known many cases where the hus-
band in fit Of passion has divorced his
wife the third time, and in order to get her
back again hes hired another man to marry
her and then divorce her. A rich Turk had
divorced his Wits the third time, and wish
Jog TO marry her, hired poor man to mar
nv hsr for consideration of seven hundred
piasters. (OOe plaster ID four cents. This
poor man took the wife and money, and the
next day refused TO give her up for less han
five thousand pesters, which the rich Turk
was obliged to pay, as the woman had be.
come the lawful wife ofthe poor man. No
Mohammedsn ever walks with his wife on
the strest. and 10 Moslem cities, very few If
anv men Of other sects are willing to be seen
in public in company with d woman, The
women are closely veiled, and if o man
and his wife have occasion to go anywhere
together. he walks IN advance and she walks
long distance behind him. No Moslem or
Turkish woman or girl would dare 10 go in
to the street without a veil, for fear OF pc
sonsl chsstisemeut from the husband and
father The Armenian and Greek and
the other Christian women in Turkey
shrink from exposing their faces, through
fear of insult from the Mohammedans,
Do you rot feel sorry for these Christian Ia
dies IL physician is called to attend
SICK uTklSu HOnbIt ITO CouuoU soo h0I iSSO
nor ber tongue, unless she thrust it through
q hole in her veil. In many cases they suf
fer q woman to die sooner than to have her
face seen by physician. L. purely Arme-
nian and Greek villages the women enjoy
far greater liberty than where there Is
Turkish element in the population. And it
is worthy of remark and grateful recogni.
ton, that although Christianity in the east
has sunk almost to level, in outward NOR
slity, with the Turks aud the other many
uncivilized aud savage sects, there Is a greet
striking difference between the lowest nom.
inal Christian community and the highest
Mohammedau, in the respect paid to wom-
en-. Ignorant and oppressed as the Armeni-
an and Greek women may be, you fpd on
entering their houses. that the degrading
yoke OF Mohammedan brutality is not on
their necks Their husbands may be coarse,
ignorant and impatient, and yet there are
lower depths OF coarsepess and brutality, of
cruelty and bestiality, which are only found
among the Mohsmnedans. Would you not
like to do something for these poor women 2
Fl GARABED.
sEYICE To h5OTuFpS