Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-09-09
WOMEN OF TURKEY
Pioneers III Some OF The Rights
Denied Elsewhere.
IN FULL CONTROL or PROPERTY

in FULL CONTROL OF PROPERTY
National Geographic Society Gives In
formation That Is Exactly To Con.
trary To The Common Understand.
ing OF The Whole Subject.
Some extremely modern young wo-
men, who mistake symptoms for the
causes of woman's Independence,
should make tour Of Turkey" shs-
gests q bulletin from the Washington
Of the National Geog-
raphic Society. @Gt
"There women smoke. have had
property rights for centuries, and di-
vorce is easy. but who--in all respects
wants TO be Turk?
"The %>toys of the Turkish harems'
were to be pitied in many ways, 1t is
true. but considerable pity for them
has been misdirected. For example,
the Turkish women who now are to be
'emancipated' have had absolute con-
troll of their own property for hun
dreds of years. whereas the Germahi
wives cried In vain for such 'ennanci-
patton under the kaiser" ~
The bulletin quotes from a commun-
ioation by Mary Mills Patrick. which
gives a vivid picture of the condition
of Turkish women before the World
war, as follows:
"It is well known fact that Roman
law regarded the rights of the indivi-
dual without consideration of sex; a
man or a woman was alike citizen
Of the Roman world. This met the
requirements of Mohammedan life.
where no woman ever necessarily sus-
stained a lasting relation with any
man.
Therefore, during all the centuries
of Mohammedan history, women have
legally controlled their own property
They have been free to buy, sell, or
ALLEVIATE 1t without consulting any male
relative. This has given them indc-
pendence of thought and an Influence
in business AFFAIRS that seems wholly
inconsistent with their life or compare
tive personal slavery 4
Enter harem and there you see
a Circassian beauty. who has been
newly acquired by the tall, handsome
pasha who has just passed you in the
street. The air is heavy with the odor
| OF Eastern perfume, and the blaze
eunuch stands by the door to watch
all who come and go. The beauty hes--
self is thickiy powered, with an slabo: (
ate ,coiffure erected by her numerous
maids. Jewels half cover her arms.
and she wears beautifully embroid-
cred negligee. There is a languorous
expression in her black eyes, as she sits
idly smoking a cirgarette and slipping
Turkish coffee.
Would you think, to look at her.
that when she draws her money from
the bank that she must sign her own
check? These two sides of life have
been wholly at variance with each
other; but as years have gone by. the
thoughtful side has ,predominated
among the more intellectual Mohai,.
medan women, until now they are
ready to enter into the affairs Of today
with an understanding and vigor which
the world has never accredited to
them.
"It has been on the social side that
Mohammedan women have suffered
most under the. oppression of the last
thirty years, especially from the fire..
quency of divorce "A man could le-.
gally divorce his wife at any minute,
the only condition being the payment
Of the dowry which was settled upon
her by the husband at the time of her
marriage.
I'm the last attempt to keep the sex
in the role assigned to them by the life
Of the harem, very strict laws have
been made to prevent all possible pro-.
gress among them. Laws have been
proclaimed over and over again for
bidding Mohammedan women to at
tend foreign schools. In this emer-
gency they engaged governesses. Most
of these governesses were alien, and
many of them were inefficient, and
bad moral guides to so large q portion
Of the population beginning to think
and question. The governess system
obtained SO much influence after n
short time that laws were made for
bidding women to have governesses.
Yet they struggled on in an effort for
mental illumination, reading, writing
talking things over among themselves,
and sometimes getting help from their
husbands and brothers. They have ac-
complished much, with so heavy a
handicap, in literature, science, COM
merce, and politics"
Mexican Joan of Arc.-Senora Car