Child brides deserve AKP’s sensitivity too
The 16-year-old pop singer Aleyna Tilki has been banned from taking the stage in bars in Turkey. The Istanbul Governor’s Office, upon the intervention of three ministries, has implemented an already existing legal article and banned Aleyna and others under 18 from taking the stage at venues where alcoholic beverages are served.
It is a separate question why the governor’s office waited for the intervention of the three ministries. Clearly, it means that for certain laws to be implemented it is not enough for them to be passed in parliament, ministries also have to step in.
Anyway, I should point out that if a person under the age of 18 cannot enter a venue where alcoholic drinks are served, then they should obviously not be on stage there either.
Aleyna should perform in concert halls, not in bars. It is good that the governor’s office has remembered to implement this law.
The pro-government media reported the ban on Aleyna singing in bars with a cry of victory. It was on the verge of organizing a fireworks show in celebration of the ban.
But I would like to tell them that they also should start a similar campaign for child brides.
This call is not only for pro-government newspapers. The entire media of this country should set its heart on this issue, in order to bring this scandal to an end and to make sure that very young girls are no longer raped under the guise of marriage.
What are the country’s political Islamists doing on this issue? What is the family minister doing? Don’t they object to the marrying off of young girls, just as much as they object to the singing of young girls in bars?
‘Having a say’ in Mosul
As far as I gather from news reports, Turkey has a “determined stance” to take all kinds of measures in Mosul and Kirkuk. Apparently we are in a good position over there; I have learned from columnists that only Turkey, out of the whole world, that has the right to have a say on Mosul and Kirkuk.
Is this domestic propaganda?
The overwhelming majority of those who should read and be intimidated by these reports and columns do not speak Turkish and do not read the Turkish media.
Nevertheless, at least in the eyes of our own nation, an atmosphere supporting the determined stance of our top officials is created. Journalists should be positive, right?
Well, there is one issue we should mention. When the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) occupied Mosul and took hostage our diplomats, police and their families, why was nobody recognizing that Mosul was our business and nobody else’s? When ISIL attacked Sinjar, massacred Yazidis and Syriacs, and sold little girls as slaves, wasn’t that a chance to demonstrate our sensitivity?
I’m really confused.
Ask the people about food prices
When Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ran for the presidency, he knew the duties and powers of the president written in the constitution. He knew he should be impartial and had to take an oath for this. But from the first day he was elected he has objected to these rules and has violated the constitution.
He resembles a striker in a football match who wants the offside rule to be abandoned after the game has started.
As far as I know, the Turkish Parliament is still functioning as an institution representing the Turkish people. It can make decisions and process laws on behalf of the nation. However, when it comes to the implementation of the constitution, somehow its powers become inadequate and it wants to “ask the people.”
What about other matters that interest the people even more, such as salary increases of civil servants or food prices? What do you think the nation cares more about: Erdoğan’s attempt to form a one-man regime or the people’s struggle to make a living?
The nation has given MPs the power to represent them at parliament. If they think this power is inadequate, why do they continue to occupy their seats and receive their salaries?