Turkish Women’s Legal Rights
The Turkish woman's condition is not as bad as it is sometimes represented, a lady writer who is acquainted with conditions there tells us; that while the law does permit a man to keep a harem of four wives, the vast majority of Turks have but one. "He is afraid of putting himself at the mercy of so many women," we are told, for the law guards women. Their property rights are the same as those of men. If a married woman earns money, it is her own, and her husband can not touch it. She is not under the legal guardianship of her husband, and he is not responsible for her debts. At marriage she is endowed with a separate estate, over which she has entire control, and which remains hers under any circumstances. Sons and daughters inherit equally. She can sue her husband, and be sued by him. A sum is set aside for housekeeping expenses, and no one has a right to inquire how it is spent, and her husband is obliged to maintain her and her servants according to his means. That is certainly better for woman than some civilized countries offer.