Administrative note
Before we get to our main topic, woman, I’d like to bring to your attention that we have a new format for the Blog. Even though only the Turkish version is presently operational, the English version will soon be operational also.
You can click on the Turkish flag on the upper right hand corner to see how the new format looks.
As always, your comments will be much appreciated.
An historical perspective on women
The above picture is a symbolic representation of Genghis Khan’s wife.
One day, Genghis summons all of his Khans, generals, to a meeting and brings his wife along and introduces her by saying “and this is my khan” (Han’ım in Turkish). The word in Turkish is now a synonym for woman/ladies.
The reason I bring this up is to point out that Turks living in Central Asia had a matriarchal society. Inheritance was through the mother, and women had a say in all aspects of life.
There is a theory that American Indians, migrated to America, when the Asian and American continents were connected (no Bearing Straight), after the Central Asian Sea dried up.
Some American Indian customs and even their physical characteristics are very similar to those of Central Asian Turks.
The point that I want to make is that American Indians also had a matriarchal society; coincidence???
One tribe could not go to war with another, unless “the women’s council” gave their approval.
It is claimed that because the women got tired of constant tribal warfare, they convinced the “warriors” to sit down and find a solution. Well, the solution was the establishment of “The Great Sioux Nation”, which was a confederation of 3 major American Indian tribes.
Apparently, the Founding Fathers knew this when they were drafting the US Constitution, but women’s suffrage didn’t become a reality until 1920.
Switzerland is even more startling; women couldn’t vote until the 1990s.
The whole world accepts the fact that Atatürk was an unbelievable visionary; women’s suffrage became a reality in 1935 in Turkey. Do you think our Central Asian heritage might have played a role in this?
When we scan the global scene today, we see very clearly that in those countries where women play a significant role in society, there are high standards in education, governance, harmony, optimism, and tolerance.
A brief historical note
I’ll briefly put forth the historical fact that our hunter-gatherer ancestors are said to have had a structure where both men and women had equal status.
When did things change in favor of men? With the advent of agriculture.
Why do we inherit mitochondrial DNA only from our mothers?
Please re-read my post “Improve Your Mitochondrial Function For a More Energetic, Healthy and Longer Life”, which came out in February 11, 2016.
Mitochondria are unique organelles contained in every cell of the human body, other than red blood cells. They are involved in nearly every metabolic process, and they help produce 90 % of the body’s cellular energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
The little organelle pictured below is a power station and crucial for life and longevity.
Our mitochondrial DNA accounts for a small portion of our total DNA. It contains just 37 of the 20,000 to 25,000 protein-coding genes in our body. But it is notably distinct from DNA in the nucleus. Unlike nuclear DNA, which comes from both parents, mitochondrial DNA comes only from the mother.
This is unique, and has given rise to the idea that there exists a “Mitochondrial Eve”, a woman from whom all living humans inherited their mitochondrial DNA.
I won’t bore you with scientific details, but do you see why I keep insisting that women are superior beings compared to men. Why else would only the mother’s precious DNA be found in this very crucial organelle in our body?
Isn’t there anything we can say about males?
Yes, there is, but it’s unfortunately not about Homo sapiens males, but about a couple of fish.
- Sea horses
Did you know that this beautiful creature’s males store the females eggs in their body and fertilize them while in there and give birth (hatch) up to 2,000 babies.
Then the babies are left on their own.
- Siamese fighting fish (beta)
The males of the Siamese fighting fish cannot be kept in the same aquarium because they will fight to the death. That’s why they are kept in long aquaria separated by glass partitions so that they don’t kill each other.
The interesting thing about the beta is how they reproduce.
When the time is right, the male wraps himself around the female and fertilizes her eggs as he forces them out.
He has, before hand, made bubbles with his mouth on the surface of the water.
He takes the fertilized eggs in his mouth and blows them into the bubbles he has created on the surface. This is so that they don’t sink and decay.
He then guards them, from the female, who has a tendency to eat the eggs, until they hatch.
I hope you’ve found these trivia interesting.
See you all next week.
