Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-06-11
TURKISH WOMEN.
Present Improved Position Repeti-
tion of History.


ton of History.
The revolutions which are taking
place in Turkey affect the women Of
the country to a greater extent than
would have been the case fifty years
ago. for it is little realized in England
how their position has improved, and
how eagerly they are making use OF
the opportunities now offered them for
a wider life and a better education. In
this they have the help and approval
of the most cultured and best educated
among Turkish gentlemen, especially
those who have been accustomed to
mix with foreign ladies, who are keenly
desirous that the lives of their women
kind should be more in accordance
with the ideas prevailing in western
Europe.
Turkish women are only returning to
a former state Of things, for in earlier
days Mohammedan law allowed them
much greater freedom. They spoke in
public, and among them were recogniz-
ed preachers who delivered addresses
to congregations of their own sex in the
mosques. They also figured in the lit
erature of their country, and the
names of two poetesses, Zehneb and
Mihri, who lived in the fifteenth CEN
tury, are known to the people. Grad
ually the laws became stricter and
their lives more circumscribed, until
at last the position Of the Turkish wo-
men became a byword in Europe for
all that was most enslaved and retro
grade: A great deal of misapprehen-
sion has existed on this subject, how
ever, and the evils and miseries Of the
Turkish ladys life have been greatly
exaggerated.
1t is true that after childhood she is
only allowed the companionship Of
members of her own sex, for, with the
exception of her husband and nearest
male relatives, no men are ever admit
ted into her society; but she manages
to extract a great deal Of pleasure out
of life all the same. The average Turk,
far from being the Bluebeard story
books have painted him, is courteous,
kindly gentleman, who treats his wife
with great consideration and respect.
The best part of the house, command
ing the finest views, is set aside for her
use, and If he be wealthy she has all
her heart can desire in beautiful furni-
h,Jp from
greatest houses of London and Paris.
She gives sumptuous luncheon parties
to her friends; her we'll appointed car
riage and splendid horses fill many an
English woman's heart with envy;
while her boat, with its rowers In
gorgeous livery, Is to be seen gliding
over the waters on its way to some
picturesque spot where she is giving a
picnic or tea party. The morning Is
passed at the public baths, which take
the place of her club. Here she meets
her acquaintances and discusses the
affairs Of the family or the state, for
these ladies play an important, though
secret, part in the politics Of their coun-
try, and are we'll up in all its changes
and chances. Later she visits the ba-
zaars, and examines the wonderful
things they contain, often returning
home with some new and greatly priced
possession, which she exhibits to her
husband or her callers, who are as In
terested and delighted as herself.
The law allows a Turk to have four
wives, but he is very rarely found with
more than one. He is anxious to be
considered on an equality with the men
Of other lands, and he knows that a
plurality of wives is fatal barrier to
his ambition in this respect. Moreover,
the legal position Of the Turkish women
Is such a strong one, and her rights
are so inconvenient for the men, that
they do not care ~ place themselves
in the power Of more than one wife.
It is not generally known that in Tur-
key the laws are more favorable to wo-
man than they are in any other Euro
pean country. She Is economically In
dependent of her husband. At mar
riage he is obliged to endow her with q
separate estate, over which he has no
control, and which remains hers even
If divorce ensues; he Is also legally
bound to support her and her attend
ants according to his means; the mar
riage settlement states what sum he
must give her for household expenses,
and he has no right to inquire how 1t
it is spent. She inherits her parents
property equally with her brothers, ac-
cording to the number Of children, and
after she marries she has complete pos
session Of any property she may have
already or acquire later. She may dis
pose of her possessions during life or
at death as she pleases, and sue or be
sued by her husband or any one else.
Should she die while her children are
infants, their custody devolves upon
her female relatives, Of whom her
mother has the first right. 1t is there
fore not surprising that with all these
advantages already hers the Turkish
woman Is eagerly seiZing the opportu-
nifty offered her Of improving her posi-
tion in other respects, and the first is
with regard to her education.
1t is only within the last fifty years
that it has become customary for wo-
men to learn to read and write. The
first school for girls was established at
a village on the Rosporus in 1910. Turk
ish women owe o. deep debt Of gratitude
to their American sisters for the way
in which the latter have come forward
to help them. 1t is owing to American
women that the cause Of women's edu-
cation in Turkey has made such prog
ress, for they have established high
schools in different parts of the coun-
try, which are supplied with teachers
from the women's colleges in the United
States. The American College for Girls
at Constantinople, under DR.. Mary
Mills Patrick, has done excellent work.
1t started as a high school eighteen
years ago, and one of the most striking
results of the last Turkish revolution
has been the granting of the title deeds
of the new land it has recently ac-
puirad- -betwaap forty and fiftV acres