CHANGES IN FAMILY LIFE CAUSED BY EMANCIPATION

However one of the most outrageous reforms was the abolition of polygamy. The ban and penalization of the century-old institution was eventually introduced by the new Civil Code of 1926. By the law, a Turkish man cannot marry more than one woman.

Who broke the law, committed a crime and was sentenced from one to five years in prison. However, this did not mean that monogamy came into force in Turkey. Those who had previously more wife of course could not leave their redundant wives from home from day to tomorrow. Polygamy was permitted only in the case of a barren marriage. According to this, a Turkish man could marry two women, if the first marriage was childless. However, the marriage license was still subject to strict conditions and was always up to the decision of the judges.⁶³

The law was adopted after a long debate. The most representatives of the National Assembly vehemently opposed the change of the traditional order. Mustafa Kemal Pasha had to use his full authority to carry through the unpleasant proposal. When the result of the vote was announced, several people shouted at the President, “If there is no harem, there is no Turkey!”⁶⁴

The Moderns laughed at this remark, but the Conservatives maintained their view, that polygamy is an indigenous Turkish institution, who touches that hurts the Turkish national genius. Following the adoption of the bill the competent ministries issued strict regulations, leaving to their subordinate authorities to ruthlessly implement the proposal of monogamy. Authorities was instructed to check the old harems, whether sent the unnecessary women away, but also to ensure that no one can circumvent the law and set up a new harem.

62 Első női szobor Törökországban, Esti Kurir, March 2, 1928. p.7.

63 Csak meddő házasság esetén engedik meg Törökországban a kétnejűséget, Az Est, August 7, 1924.

p.2.

64 Törökország elválasztotta az egyházat az államtól, Esti Kurir, February 19, 1926. p.4.

There were a number of obstacles during the implementation of the law. Most of the Turks never wanted to see what this "European nonsense" meant. If Mustafa Kemal had enough one wife aim for him living in monogamy, be happy with that one woman, but leave us alone who are unwilling to deviate from the glorious traditions of our ancestors.

The strength of the movement grew day by day. Turkish men conspirated in every major city to discuss what could be done to restore the ancient institution. The movement soon became national led by Salib Hodja a teacher and a member of the National Assembly. He understood the language of the people. He toured through Turkey and gave flaming speeches against “Christian law” everywhere (he named mockingly the law of monogamy). “Who visited the countries - he stated in these speeches - where monogamy is introduced, must have been horrified at the sight of terrible immorality. One wife, one husband principle is only on paper. The reality is that the husband lives an immoral life outside of marriage, and in most cases the woman does the same. The inevitable consequence of monogamy is that dirt and grime surround the family. Who has visited these countries and seen these things has returned with relief to our precious country, where morality has been so high...” In listing the inexhaustible benefits of the harem he stressed, that where is harem, there are no bad women. Men are also loyal and live happy family lives. “Imagine, he continued, what will happen here if the institution of the harem is radically eradicated! After all, there are more than a million women in Turkey than men!⁶⁵ What will become of these one million women? Until now they lived happily within the peaceful walls of charm and they had no other task but to drive the trouble away from their husbands' foreheads ... Is that why we had to fight bloody battles for years for our national independence in order to tear down our oldest institution?” He got a warning and made it understandable from

65 There are a quarter of a million more women than men in Turkey.Official dates of the census conducted on November 25, 1935 in Turkey were published now. According to data, Turkey has a population of 16 million 200 thousand 694. As in most countries, Turkey has more women than men. According to the latest Turkish census, there are 7 million 974 thousand 226 men and 8 million 226 thousand 468 women in Turkey, a quarter of a million more women than men. Compared to the data of the first census conducted in 1927, the reproduction was 2,552,000 424; the number of male inhabitants increased by 1 million 410 thousand 347 and that of female inhabitants by 1 million 142 077 souls.

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Angora not to disturb the moods. However Salib Hodja did not heed the warning, he continued his fight to restore the institution of the harem. The women were also very helpful in this activity. The women also didn’t want to hear about the monogamy. “For centuries, the harem was proven to be a right solution,” a Turkish writer declared in the government’s official gazette, “both men and women were happy with it, so there is no reason to wipe it off from day to tomorrow. If the government had wanted to reform this institution, I would not have a word against it. Like everything in the world, it has outgrowths, but these could have been cut down and the institution itself should not have been sentence to death. It would have been perfectly sufficient enough to reduce the number of wives as a first step. In a few years, they could have gone even further ...

The radical move could only provoke a reaction.”⁶⁶

Mustafa Kemal Pasha did not want to hear about the restoration of the harem.

However enforcing the abolition of harems was not an easy task for the administrative police either. In 1930, the Turkish government ordered the counting of harems. There were about 100 polygamous people in Constantinople, but there could have been more in a countryside where the modern spirit had not yet been able to conquer. The exact age of the wives had to be disclosed which also revealed, whether the age requirements of marriage had been violated. In this case, the husbands were severely punished.⁶⁷

The abolition of harems has also caused serious tensions over the issue of the unemployed eunuchs, the harem guards. The guards of the disbanded harems sent a delegation to Kemal Pasha to find them some work once he knocked the bread out of their hands with his reforms.⁶⁸ “We got news from Constantinople, that the eunuchs of the disbanded imperial harem held a meeting last night. After Mustafa Kemal Pasha came to power, the harem of the Turkish sultan was blown away. The ladies were sent back to their families, and the slave staff including the eunuchs, were simply sent to the streets. The speaker of the event narrated, that the society is prejudiced against the eunuchs. While the other servants of the sultan found employment, the eunuchs were

66 Heves harcok a hárem visszaállításáért, Az Est, October 24, 1925. p.6.

67 Háremszámlálás Törökországban, Az Est, July 15, 1930. p.7.

68 Mi lesz a munkanélküli török eunuchokkal? Népszava, January 22, 1929. p.19.

rejected from everywhere. ‘We got the worst, one of the eunuchs complained at the meeting we are the real victims of the great revolution. Everyone was able to settle down somehow, but we didn't’ ... In connection with employment, it was suggested, that the harem guards should give a lecture on the life and intimacy of the imperial harem, but their board rejected it on the grounds that this ventilation of harem secrets would abuse the trust that we got.”⁶⁹

The abolition of the harems also affected the Sultan's harems. The most famous Constantinople harem, the Haji Aga harem was transformed into an obstetric clinic by a decree of President Kemal Atatürk. At the end of World War II, there were still 200 harem women living in the luxurious halls of the former harem. After the decree, the place will be filled by nurses, midwives and other workers of the medical service.⁷⁰

However monogamy was only the first step in marriage reform. The government did not want to stay behind Western states in this respect either and even wanted preceded them. In March 1924 a government decree issued a marriage regulation so the Turkish subjects could not marry as they pleased anymore.

The main section of the Regulation were as follows:

1. If a Turkish subject wishes to marry, he must declare his intention to the mukhtar (the head of the municipality or city).

2. After this announcement, the mukhtar gets an appointment to the couple at a certain date.

3. At the appointed time, the mukhtar establishes the identity of the couple in an unquestionable manner by a seal applied to their arms.

4. Once they have been identified, they are allowed to go to a doctor and have them

examined.

5. The doctor shall issue a certificate of the results of the examinations, which shall be

69 Az eunuchok panaszkodnak, Az Est, July 5, 1928. p.7.

70 Szülészeti klinika lesz Konstantinápoly leghíresebb háreméből, Magyar Lapok, July 8, 1938. p.9.

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presented to the mukhtar.

6. If the certificate states that the couple are not suitable for marriage, the mukhtar shall not grant permission for the marriage. The certificate also states whether they are only suitable for marriage between themselves or if they are not allowed to marry anyone.

7. If the certificate states that there is no obstacle to their marriage, the mukhtar will grant permission and may marry in accordance with applicable law.

Educated Turkish men and women welcomed this provision because they saw the vision of a healthier human future. However the ordinary population of the villages looked suspiciously at the reform, especially the regulation, that those who wanted to marry must be examined by a doctor. They accepted examination the men, but they were fully opposed to the fact that women had to be certified.

At several places rallies were held and people fiercely stood up against the decree.

„There is no day, - said a speaker of one meeting - that we would not be surprised by any change. For centuries, one day was just like the other, but our ancestors did well.

Now when we get up in the morning, we can be prepared to a new idea that rape us.

They are already destroyed our marriage and not allowed us to marry whomever we want. Our brides have to be taken to the doctor and they commit violent on our most sacred feelings ... ” ⁷¹

The Hungarian press reported as sensational news about the first Mohammedan-Christian marriages in Pera, in the registry office. The wedding was on Friday. The couple was: Sutchre Harum a Muslim woman and Emil Marinelli, a Christian engineer of Italian descent. This was the first marriage between a Mohammedan woman and a man of another faith without having to convert to Islam.⁷²

The modern marriage took place, keeping the old custom, at the girl's home with a written contract. Women soon learned to choose between men, even though they had no right to make decisions in the whole marriage until then. The groom was chosen for

71 Törökországban csak orvosi engedelemmel lehet házasodni, A nép hevesen tiltakozik a reform ellen. Az Est, March 4, 1924. p.3.

72 Az első mohamedán-keresztény házasságkötés Törökországban, Szegedi Új Nemzedék, March 15, 1927. p.6.

them by the parents, and the young people could not even see each other until the marriage that was entered by oral statements. Although the government tolerated these assemblies, they did not care about their proposals. The government’s view on the protests was that at first any reform could cause discomfort, but people would slowly calm down. They will also rest in the medical examination if they realize the benefits of such method. "No matter how conservative people are, the Turkish innate intelligence soon realizes that even a medical examination wants only their benefit." ⁷³

However there was a rule that could not persuade the Turks with even the compulsion of the European standards. The Turkish government submitted a bill to the Parliament amending the Civil Code. The new Turkish Civil Code (1926) was almost literally a copy of the Swiss, which in many respects did not correspond to the situation in Turkey, for example the provision that marriage could be concluded at the age of 21 for men and 18 for women. According to the bill regarding Turkey’s climate and social conditions men will be able to marry at the age of 17 and women at the age of 13.⁷⁴

In connection with the age more often trickery cases began to occur. The Turkish Post Office has introduced an innovation which was not unknown in some Western European states, but had great importance in Turkey in some respects. For a high fee an identity card could be issued not only for men but also for women. In this document the age of the applicant woman was documented as desired. So women could claim to be either older or younger. According to reports “Surely a lot of single people will exchange such an identity card in which they can mark their age older. According to Mohammedan law, a Turkish woman under the age of 18 cannot marry. Turkish women mature much earlier than Western women and 14-15-year-old Turkish girls want to get married.” ⁷⁵

However age rules had their own contradictions and imperfections. The Turkish government in a decree banned young people under the age of seventeen from attending cinemas. Istanbul cinemas sent a delegation to Ankara and asked to change this decree

73 Milyen az élet a megújhodott Törökországban? Budapesti Hírlap, September, 25, 1924. p.5.

74 Törökországban leszállítják a házasságkötési korhatárt, Brassói Lapok, June 3, 1938. p. 3.

75 A török nők öregebbeknek vallhatják magukat, Brassói Lapok, May 17, 1935. p.6.

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suggesting that majority of viewers in smaller cinemas come from juveniles and the loss of the audience for thrillers and Wild West films would force cinemas to close. But cinemas also had a more surprising argument: in Turkey it is allowed to marry at the age of sixteen so full couples, even young people cannot be banned from going to the cinema. This argument has made the Turkish government think.⁷⁶

Another major reform affecting women was providing their suffrage. The Hungarian public was really interested in this topic because they did not understand how Turkey could consider women mature for the right to vote in the municipality as in Hungary at the same time women in the village did not have the right to vote. Those women who have always been equally involved in work and the problems of the country for a thousand years (in Hungary the vast majority of male voters were also found immature for secret suffrage).⁷⁷

The Turkish Minister of the Interior issued a decree (March 20, 1930) on the basis of a law voted by the National Assembly in which the authorities were instructed to add women to the electoral register as well. According to the regulation, women's suffrage was limited to municipal elections, when women were not only voters, but also eligible for elections. ⁷⁸ The Minister of the Interior envisaged that Turkish women would soon be able to participate in the national elections as well.⁷⁹ And in 1933 they were given the right to participate in the election of mayors and to be elected to the village council.

On December 5, 1934, women acquired the legal right to vote and stand as candidate at parliamentary elections in Turkey - at that time, women still had such rights in only 28 countries in the world, and in 17 countries they exercised this right. Turkish women, who first took part in the general elections of 8 February 1935, won 17 seats in the Turkish parliament. A total of 599 representatives were elected, instead of 16 all were members of the only Kemal party in Turkey. The 16 representatives had 16 independent separate programs. Out of the 20 women candidates 17 received mandates which was a

76 Törökországban 16 éven alul lehet házasodni, de moziba járni nem, Esti Újság, May 7, 1938. p.10.

77 A török nők megkapják a passzív választójogot is, Népszava, November 12, 1930. p.5.

78 Választói jogot kapnak a török nők, Az Est, November 12, 1930. p.8.

79 Választójog a török nőknek, Az Est, March 27, 1930. p. 9.

great success for Turkish women. The new National Assembly met in Ankara in March.⁸⁰

„Turkey considered their women mature for the right to vote. Turkey does not argue that its thousand years old constitutional life has failed to educate its subjects for political rights. Turkey raises faster, because its women were slaves in the harem a couple of years ago, now they are equal citizens of their homeland with men.” ⁸¹- wrote newspaper Népszava.

However, modernization was primarily outward, women’s freedom within the patriarchal family could be restricted on the basis of violation the religious laws on the purity of marriage. Public opinion was also interested in the Turkish honor killings, which became in focus on the occasion of celebrating the female emancipation in the newspaper Az Est. ⁸² Just the bill of abolishing polygamy was in front of the National Assembly the country was very excited about a certain criminal case. There was a murder committed by Lieutenant Nechet Efendi. The Lieutenant killed his wife by multiple stabbings, because she was allegedly unfaithful.

Several politicians and lawyers have spoken about the case. Conservatives stated it was not surprising and this was actually the result of rapid reforms. The politicians did not understand the Turkish soul and simply wanted to copy the Western customs. It was believed, that because something was successful in the West, it was enough reason to break the ancient Turkish (marriage and women’s rights) customs and to establish the Westerns. A series of reforms have given Turkish women more and more freedom.

Reformers proudly proclaimed, that a Turkish woman is no longer a slave, but a free man, no need to veil, can study at schools, occupy offices, and according to the new marriage law, can be an equal partner in marriage and do not have to endure for her husband to keep more women in their house.

80 Új nemzetgyűlést választott Törökország, Brassói Lapok, February 17, 1935. p.4.

81 Törökország érettnek tartja a nőket a községi passzív választójogra, Népszava, May 12, 1929.

p.19.

82 Ha a nőnek jogot adnak, megcsalja a férjét. Nechet efendi családi tragédiája, Az Est, July 19, 1924. p.2.

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„Of course the Turkish woman was fascinated by this unexpected freedom” - the editorial continued, „she was happy as a child, because there were so many gifts on her lap. But just as a child with a lot of toys she could not do with it, the Turkish woman

„Of course the Turkish woman was fascinated by this unexpected freedom” - the editorial continued, „she was happy as a child, because there were so many gifts on her lap. But just as a child with a lot of toys she could not do with it, the Turkish woman