Erdogan unhinged

His latest comments about women need to be seen within larger context of what seem like ramblings of an ageing ruler

There’s something about being in power for a decade that seems to unhinge people. Whether it is Paul Kagame, who, despite his popular image as Rwanda’s post-genocide linchpin, has started persecuting opposition politicians and journalists; or our very own Pervez Musharraf, who shared his wisdom when he said women in Pakistan claim to be raped just so that they could get visas to go abroad — delusion, or perhaps the loosening of an erstwhile diplomatic tongue, begins to manifest. The latest in the series of leaders that may have lost the plot is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. While his latest comments, declaring women to be unequal to men — he said it at a women’s conference no less — may be catching the headlines, President Erdogan seems to have been dabbling in the bizarre for quite a while.

He, like Pakistanis, likes to blame ‘lobbies’ for things he does not like. He blamed the ‘interest rate lobby’ for the anti-government protests that troubled his government last year; and he blamed the ‘Lufthansa lobby’ for the troubles he faced constructing a new airport. So his latest comments at the women’s conference need to be seen within the larger context of what seem like the ramblings of an ageing ruler. But there is a method to his madness. His supporters are primarily Anatolian, conservative middle class voters who are irreverent towards Turkey’s ostensibly secular character, and poll after poll suggest his revisionist outlook gets him more votes, even if they alienate urban centres like Istanbul or Izmir. Going back to his comments, President Erdogan referred to familiar sexist tropes of women’s “delicate nature”, which ought to prohibit them from manual labour, and the proselytisation of motherhood as a woman’s true calling. Of course, the central consideration is not one over the other; empowerment lies in the ability to choose. While his role in propelling Turkey’s economy to new heights, at least during the initial years of his rule, cannot be denied, of late President Erdogan clearly seems to have lost the plot.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2014.

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