No change in the law was needed for quite a big change that was made in Turkey’s education system: the YÖK (Higher Education Board) decided that graduates from normal high schools and vocational high schools have the same chance of entering a university based on their scores in the ÖSS (on which I wrote a blog recently). Previously, …
The Eastern Turkish city of Van is, according to certain travel books, much more modern than you would think. And then they sum up by informing us that young people hold hands on the street, that you can get beers in nice lively bars where women too can go without a problem, and that there is a huge university. Now …
What’s International Women’s Day about? Well, in Turkey it seems to be about giving women big discounts to make them live up to the standards of women’s beauty. So on Women’ s Day you can get lingerie at greatly reduced prices, make up for half the normal price, and curls in your hair for free if you get a haircut. …
In the morning, she prepares breakfast for the family. Then she takes the young children to school. After that she cleans up the breakfast table, starts cleaning the house and when that’s finished, she knits for a while, till it’s time to start making dinner. Just a small glimpse into the life of a so called ‘ev kizi’, a house …
I met the most interesting woman today. At least, that’s how I see it after we talked for a bit. It started with my having to pay for my Turkish language class, actually a conversation class to get my speaking and listening on the same level as my grammar. So I went to the language institute to pay the bill …
I got up early to finish a story I got stuck with yesterday. Around 6 I was already busy typing. Now and then I got up to enjoy some fresh morning breeze at the open window. And then I saw one of my neighbours sitting on the threshold between her living room and her balcony. She was silently mending …
I recently read that the amount of ‘Islamic hotels’ is increasing in Turkey. No alcohol is served there and there are separate swimming pools for men and women. I don’t really have an opinion about that. I think there’s apparently a market for this sort of hotel, and if there are people who want to enjoy their holidays …
Learn to write and win a fridge
That’s the basic theme of a campaign by the ministry of education to fight illiteracy. Especially for women, of course. Turkey has a population of around 70 million and about 5 million of them are illiterate. In order to make more women in particular attend literacy classes, the ministry has come up with a plan in cooperation with a bank: …
Turkish women need to give birth to at least three children. So says Prime Minister Erdogan. He said it once, nicely planned to coincide with International Womens’ Day, and that turned out not to be a slip of the tongue because he repeated his advice. Three children, because that’s the only way to maintain Turkish population levels. I have …
At their protest they carry a portrait of Safiye Ayla. She passed away ten years ago, ninety years old, but in her young years she was Atatürks favorite singer. She became successful also because of her performances on TRT, the Turkish state broadcaster. The portrait says everything about the unrest that has built up at TRT and …
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