‘This nature’ has a serious problem with us

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the Women and Justice Summit yesterday, hosted by the Women and Democracy Association (KADEM). He, purely coincidentally, said, “You cannot bring women and men into equal positions; that is against nature [creation].”

The word he used is “fıtrat,” which translates into nature or creation.

And I think this nature has a serious problem with us!

For instance, the nature of being a Cabinet minister is making an umrah trip to Saudi Arabia with the private plane of a “new rich” businessman and wearing a watch worth 700,000 Turkish Liras.

The nature of holding a position as the general manager of a state bank, for example, is keeping millions of dollars in shoe boxes at your home.

And, for instance, in the nature of the worker and the civil servant, the annual pay rise for 2015 is deemed appropriate as a rise of 3 + 3 percent. 

In the nature of the mine worker and of the construction worker, or simply, the nature of the worker, there is death.

In the nature of the advisor, though, is kicking the person who has already been brought down by Special Forces. Kicking the person who is already on the ground, who is a relative of a miner, who is using his right to protest the Soma mine massacre, may be in your nature as an advisor, but it is also in the nature of this advisor to be protected as if nothing has happened and continue keeping your advisory position.

In the nature of the farmer, is selling your produce for the cheapest price ever, to be in a position where you would give away your land, having succumbed to imported products.

In the nature of the farmer who went up to the prime minister in protest and said, “Mr. Prime Minister, our mothers are crying… What will happen to farmers?” we remember a bad scolding: “Don’t pretend to be an actor. Take your mother with you and go!”

Talking about mothers…

Let us take a look at the Global Gender Gap Report of 2013.

In light of several assessments in fields such as participation in politics, economic equality, the right to education and health, the report found that women in Turkey were in 120th place out of 135 countries.
For example, according to this report, 82 percent of men “as is their nature,” held bank accounts while only 33 percent of women had bank accounts. 

I tell you, my dear readers, this nature has a problem with us; it must be very pissed off. 

In the nature of some, there is a palace with 1,000 rooms; in the nature of others is an earthquake rescue tent without any electricity.

In the nature of some, there is sucking up to businessmen; in the nature of others is being booed by crowds in town squares upon the call of the prime minister as a mother whose son has been massacred…

Under these circumstances, of course in the nature of Erdoğan there is the power to say, with a high dose of boasting, “You cannot bring women and men into equal positions; that is against nature.”

Why are you surprised? I really don’t understand.

The culprit is out there, nature…

We should go out and fetch it, right chief?

Look, how rapidly I have grasped it! Well, this naivety is in my nature, of course.