Woman: A word that divides the world
GHRTV
08-03-2022
Idil Igdir
Women’s Rights Researcher,
Global Human Rights Defence.
As the world celebrates International Women's Day today, what definition does the world really have to define women?
From an early age, people use dictionaries to understand and learn the meaning of a word. For instance, when a child looks up the dictionary to learn how to describe a car, they would find an answer such as "a road vehicle with an engine and four wheels that carry a small number of passengers”. A unanimous definition. So, when we search for the meaning of being a woman in today's world, why can't we find the same consensus that we find in other words?
According to the “ Türk Dil Kurumu” (TDK), a national institution established to analyze and develop the Turkish language in Turkey, a woman is someone who has "the virtues and skills necessary for motherhood or household management" or, worse, "a servant". This means that even in 2022, women are still not considered anything other than a mother or a housewife in some parts of the world, as the language itself does not allow it.
Moreover, according to Oxford Learner's Dictionaries, the source that can describe a car so simply and clearly defines a woman as a “female worker, especially one who works with her hands”. The same source, on the other hand, gives the definition of a man as “a person who is strong and brave or has other qualities that some people think are typically male”. On top of that, a woman is considered in the Lexico, UK Dictionary, as " a person with the qualities traditionally associated with females “ and “ a female person who is paid to clean someone's house and carry out other domestic duties.“
The world can celebrate March 8 every year, International Women's Day, but women will not be able to move forward and will be left alone to overcome obstacles in all areas of life until the world itself changes its perspectives on women in tangible ways. Because words mean more than we think. Because it is words and their meanings that define and shape our way of thinking.
Therefore, women can be mothers or housewives, but a woman is so much more than the concepts the world tries to surround with limited titles. A woman can be anything and everything like any man.
Every year, we celebrate International Women's Day to seek gender equality and raise our voices against the discrimination and hostility faced by women around the world. However, the world is constantly reminding us how far we still have to go to reach the ultimate goal: equality.
Sources and Further Reading :
“ Tük Dil Kurumu (TDK) ”, Turkish Language Institute, the definition of woman.
Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, the definition of woman.
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/woman?q=woman
Lexico, the definition of woman.
https://www.lexico.com/definition/woman
Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, the definition of man.
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/man_1?q=man+
