Reaction to the sermon: Women are once again the target  

2025-09-20 11:34:22


	 

	Pelşin Çetinkaya 

	 

	ADANA - Commenting on the Friday sermon given by the Presidency of Religious Affairs on the rights of individuals and inheritance distribution, Zeliha Korkmaz, a member of the Executive Board of the Mor Dayanışma Association, pointed out that the policies implemented by the male-dominated government are actively enforced in all institutions, stating, “Women are once again the target.” 

	 

	Attacks on women's gains in the social, economic, and political spheres continue to grow day by day. The root of the problem lies in the government's rhetoric, its practices, the weakening of legal mechanisms to prevent violence against women, and the perpetuation of gender inequality. The patriarchal regime, which targets women, continues to relentlessly pursue its policies in all the institutions it controls. 

	 

	At the forefront of these policies are the statements of the Presidency of Religious Affairs. The concepts of “rights of servants” and “inheritance distribution” addressed by the Presidency of Religious Affairs in its Friday sermons in recent days are also highlighted by women's organizations as yet another attack on women's rights and freedom.

	 

	While reactions to the issue came from many quarters, Zeliha Korkmaz, a member of the Mor Dayanışma Association, evaluated the statements made in the sermon.

	 

	The ruling party's policy on women's rights

	 

	

	Zeliha Korkmaz, stating that the Presidency of Religious Affairs' discourse should not be viewed separately from the system established by the AKP, said, "Since coming to power, the AKP has embarked on the construction of fascism in order to perpetuate its rule. We have witnessed these moves since the ruling party came to power. We are now in a period where we feel this more intensely through more aggressive attacks. Ultimately, the AKP needs social consent to perpetuate its power, and the place where it will build this social consent is the Presidency of Religious Affairs.

	 

	That is why it has a larger budget than other ministries. And in fact, it continues its activities from a place that reaches all parts of society, from education to health, and where all the power opens up opportunities for them and offers them all the means. So, we actually need to discuss the Diyanet a little bit in terms of building social consent."

	 

	‘The government sees the women’s struggle as a barrier’

	 

	Zeliha Korkmaz emphasized that the AKP sees the women’s struggle as a significant barrier to consolidating its power. Noting that attacks against women are increasing day by day, Zeliha Korkmaz said, "The Directorate of Religious Affairs came out with an attack on women's clothing in its Friday sermon; the following Friday sermon, it attacked the inheritance rights that women have actually won through 100 years of struggle. These are, of course, not coincidences. This is exactly what the AKP wants to do today. 

	 

	It is to increase male violence with impunity policies, to try to suppress the women's struggle at the same time, to discipline women within the home. We see that the AKP does not actually want to see any other female figure in society besides a mother and a good wife. The Friday sermons coming in this manner are, of course, no different. After all, a sermon, a call, delivered simultaneously in 90,000 mosques to thousands, tens of thousands of men, is this."

	 

	‘Women’s hard-won rights are under attack’

	 

	“The AKP has actually launched an attack through mediation methods, from divorce to our inheritance rights,” said Zeliha Korkmaz. “They are doing this from a place where they say it is wrong for women to receive a share of the inheritance and that it is a violation of human rights. Meanwhile, millions of people, working women, are living in poverty, which is currently on our agenda. There is enormous poverty in the current situation. And today, while they are spending all their budgets and shares for the benefit of their own power and capital, we see the Diyanet not bothering with these issues and only attacking women's acquired rights on the basis of ‘‘right of the servant’. 

	 

	Actually, the Constitution and the Civil Code already establish women's inheritance rights and the principle of equality. In line with this principle, the distribution of the remaining assets should be equal for both women and men. But as I said, this equality has deepened due to the AKP's gender-based policies, so women's acquired rights are also under attack today."

	 

	‘As a result of these policies, we may encounter sermons of this kind’

	 

	Zeliha Korkmaz pointed out that sermons began with attacks on women's bodies and clothing, and later addressed inheritance and fertility, stating, "Because ultimately, propaganda for this is being spread every day. For example, propaganda is being spread to women to ‘have three children’. Because there is a need for cheap labor to work for capital. In the context of foreign trade, our country has been completely transformed into a cheap labor pool. This means that capitalism and Turkish capital are in crisis. Therefore, we foresee an increase in family year propaganda and sexist policies."

	 

	Call for joint struggle

	 

	Zeliha Korkmaz, who emphasized the need to form a line of struggle against what is happening, concluded by saying: “We need a line of struggle together with workers, students, and women. And in fact, we are going through a period in which we can expose both capitalism and the male-dominated order and develop policies to combat them. The women's struggle is a struggle that has been going on for centuries. Our struggle is eternal. Believing in this, we also need to expand this line of struggle."