In the Ministry of Education’s book discussing women with and without headscarves, the ministry made a statement and claimed that of 150 images, 4 were chosen to create a perception against the ministry. However, only 15 images in the book deal with couple relations. There are women in seven of these images, and all 7 images are included in this debate.
While of the 4 of 7 images about interpersonal relationships and the woman’s role depicted women with headscarves in a positive light, of the three images of women without headscarves, 2 were depicted negatively. These images, depicting women with headscarves positively and women without headscarves negatively, was created as a part of the Ministry of Education’s “Psychosocial Preventative Support program” to guide teachers. The book’s release has sparked intense public discussion. THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION: CREATING A PURPOSEFUL PERCEPTION In a statement about the book the Ministry of Education stated, “The news in question is intended to create an intentional perception by selecting 4 images from the 150 in the book, which does not reflect the whole.” THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION FOUND THE IMAGE SELECTION TO BE WRONG The Minister of National Education, Ziya Selcuk, disagreed with the official statement of the ministry, however. In a television interview, the minister said, “An investigation was launched. The images used in the book are not right. Those who know me even a little, would know that I will not approve of this. THE NUMBER OF DEPICTIONS OF INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: 15 In the investigation dokuz8NEWS conducted on the book, it was found that 15 images in the section on “Preventative Support Program Activities” depicted interpersonal relationships. Within these images, adult men were depicted negatively in 3 images, but were shown positively and compassionately in 2. All 3 of the negatively depicted male images related to peer bullying and the relationships among children. However, all 7 images of women were about women’s relationship to children, and demonstrated the primacy of women who are covered. While all 4 children were depicted as compassionate and loving, 2 out of 3 women without headscarves were depicted negatively.