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Turkey

A Woman's Sacred Right To Wear Shorts — Or A Headscarf

A woman in Istanbul
A woman in Istanbul
Emre Kongar

-OpEd-

ISTANBUL — After a woman was kicked in the face on a public bus for wearing shorts, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the event as an "individual" act of discrimination. His ruling party, the AKP, expressed a similar opinion, calling it an "isolated incident."

What they failed to acknowledge is the role their cultural politics play in setting the stage for this kind of attack. The assault didn't occur in a cultural or political vacuum: There's a contributing context, rather, that Turkey's leaders deliberately reinforce.

The long list of political reasons behind this attack starts with encouraging and supporting myths and superstitions as if they are religious requirements. Second, constantly promoting male domination in an already patriarchal society creates the cultural conditions that make an unstable individual think he is allowed to punish a woman who does not fit the government's definition of how she should be.

This feudal culture is sustained by the attempt to mobilize masses by means of demagoguery masked as democracy. Political leaders use pious values, in other words, to appeal to the public. And in doing so, they nourish a judgmental environment through their increasingly authoritarian politics that is involved in every aspect of life from drinking, eating and clothing to the manner of giving birth and how many children one should have.

Moreover, people like the bus attacker are encouraged by the legal system's leniency towards perpetrators of past attacks, and the understanding that Erdogan's supporters will be tolerated in a court of law even in cases of sexual harassment and assault. Then there is the education system, which validates the discriminatory culture from the earliest ages, with clothing restrictions in schools, policies that favor male students over females, and books that promote the sexist behaviors of a patriarchal society.

Indeed, it is the overall Turkish political and public environment that allows incidents like the bus attack to happen. The problem is not about an "isolated" attack: It is a problem of human rights and women's rights. The attack is a symptom of deep-rooted problems with the freedom to live one's life as one chooses.

With a government that fosters a tense and polarized society, it is no surprise that a woman was attacked because of the way she was dressed. I wish that women who rallied for the right to wear headscarves, and the male politicians who support them, did not stay silent for the freedom of the woman who dared wear shorts.

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LGBTQ Plus

My Wife, My Boyfriend — And Grandkids: A Careful Coming Out For China's Gay Seniors

A series of interviews in Wuhan with aging gay men — all currently or formerly married to women — reveals a hidden story of how Chinese LGBTQ culture is gradually emerging from the shadows.

Image of two senior men playing chinese Checkers.

A friendly game of Checkers in Dongcheng, Beijing, China.

Wang Er

WUHAN — " What do you think of that guy sitting there, across from us? He's good looking."

" Then you should go and talk to him."

“ Too bad that I am old..."

Grandpa Shen was born in 1933. He says that for the past 40 years, he's been "repackaged," a Chinese expression for having come out as gay. Before his wife died when he was 50, Grandpa Shen says he was was a "standard" straight Chinese man. After serving in the army, he began working in a factory, and dated many women and evenutually got married.

"Becoming gay is nothing special, I found it very natural." Grandpa Shen says he discovered his homosexuality at the Martyrs' Square in Wuhan, a well-known gay men's gathering place.

✉️ You can receive our LGBTQ+ International roundup every week directly in your inbox. Subscribe here.

Wuhan used to have different such ways for LGBTQ+ to meet: newspaper columns, riversides, public toilets, bridges and baths to name but a few. With urbanization, many of these locations have disappeared. The transformation of Martyrs' Square into a park has gradually become a place frequented by middle-aged and older gay people in Wuhan, where they play cards and chat and make friends. There are also "comrades" (Chinese slang for gay) from outside the city who come to visit.

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