Daughters Are Subject to Father

In this scene, the three sisters (Turkan, Muazzez, & Safiye) are being scolded by their father (Aziz) for accepting the gift of shampoo from a stranger in the garden. Aziz is sitting on the couch while the daughters are kneeling in submission. Once Muazzez confesses that she is the one who accepted the gift, Aziz takes off his belt to punish Muazzez by whipping her hands. This scene speaks toward the way that Erdogan is trying to portray the culture of eastern Turkey as male dominated and not friendly to independent women. Aziz represents the old way of Turkish society and his struggles with his daughters represents the struggle of the old ways fitting in with the new.