You try natural birth gentlemen!
The banner reading “Natural is Normal Birth,” displayed by Sivasspor, sparked backlash from women. Calling it “not a campaign but a blatant sexist imposition,” women stated, “No form of birth can be sanctified or judged.”
With President Tayyip Erdoğan declaring 2025 as the “Year of the Family,” the government’s promotion of “natural birth” has now spread to football fields. Before its match against Fenerbahçe, Sivasspor entered the pitch carrying a banner that read “Natural is Normal Birth,” sparking strong backlash from women’s organisations. Women responded with, “You don’t get to decide what’s ‘normal.’ Caesarean is not ‘abnormal,’ just as vaginal birth isn’t automatically ‘normal.’ The method of birth must be decided through a holistic approach that considers the woman’s and the baby’s medical, psychological, mental, and socioeconomic conditions. No one can impose anything by calling it ‘normal’.”
CREATING PRESSURE ON WOMEN
Fatoş Erol from the SOL Feminist Movement told BirGün that the authoritarian regime is attempting to impose a religious and conservative control over women’s bodies and reproductive rights.
“These acts aren’t random but are centrally coordinated. This case proves that sport is not ‘just sport’—it can serve as a powerful ideological tool in reproducing patriarchy,” she said.
Erol continued: “The Islamist authoritarian regime continues its assaults on women’s bodies, using campaigns that reduce women solely to the role of ‘mother.’ These patriarchal attacks continue at full speed. In this climate, women’s right to abortion, access to birth control, postpartum care, and control over fertility are not even up for debate. The core issue here is not health but a gendered power relation that tries to dictate which health choices are considered ‘natural.’ Whether a woman gives birth vaginally or via caesarean—and what she considers ‘natural’—is her decision alone.”
A REFLECTION OF GOVERNMENT POLICY
Esin İzel Uysal, spokesperson for the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, also condemned the banner: “This clearly reflects government policy. The health of the mother and baby should be the priority. What’s ‘normal’ must be defined by that—not by political messaging.”
She added: “This attempt to speak on behalf of women—and to do so through male footballers—sends the message that ‘women’s rights can be restricted from all fronts.’ And it’s not just about birth. Women are being denied their right to live. We shouldn’t see remarks about childbirth or even our laughter in isolation—they are part of a broader, coordinated, misogynistic policy. If we can’t speak about our most basic democratic rights, there’s no equality or freedom for us. No one has the right to dictate how birth should happen. The only thing that can stop this is our organised resistance.”
“IT’S CALLED VAGINAL BIRTH”
Dr. Irmak Saraç, a specialist in gynaecology and obstetrics, stated: “Nowhere in the world is it called ‘normal birth.’ The correct term is vaginal birth.”
Saraç explained that privatisation in healthcare has contributed to a rise in caesarean rates and continued: “This is a systemic issue. The system does not support vaginal birth. There’s huge pressure on gynaecologists—malpractice lawsuits don’t ask ‘Why did you do a C-section?’ but rather, ‘Why didn’t you?’ In countries where midwives are empowered, vaginal birth rates are higher. But in Turkey, midwives have been weakened. If you want to give birth in the public system, you get little to no proper prenatal education or midwife support. Many maternity wards still use a ward system. Meanwhile, so-called ‘natural’ or pain-free births are mostly available in the private sector—so yes, it’s also a class issue. Without addressing these, telling women to ‘give vaginal birth’ or ordering doctors to ‘deliver vaginally’ is not realistic.”
A MINISTER’S STRANGE RESPONSE
When asked about the public backlash from women and health organisations, Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu dismissed concerns, saying: “It’s normal. Are football matches only attended by men?”
EVGAR: SHAME ON YOU
The AKP government continues to shape society through campaigns in stadiums and loyalist media. Artists and public figures have spoken out. Actor Demet Evgar stated: “So you’re ‘normal,’ and we’re ‘abnormal’? Shame on those who carried that banner, and on those blindly following this nonsense.”
Comedian Yasemin Sakallıoğlu added: “Don’t worry—women already ‘give birth nine times’ while dealing with everything life throws at them. What’s natural is the mother’s need in that moment. There is no abnormal form of birth. Every birth is normal.”
THE DECISION BELONGS TO WOMEN
CHP Deputy Chair Gökçe Gökçen said: “As if all problems in the country are solved, now male footballers are telling women how to give birth. Gentlemen, if you ever give birth, feel free to go with a ‘normal birth.’”
CHP Women’s Branch Ankara Chair Ayça Çağlar added: “A campaign is being run about women’s birth choices—but not a single woman is involved. This is not a health campaign. It’s an explicitly sexist imposition.”
HDP MP Perihan Koca commented: “Your body, your choice, gentlemen. If you give birth, do it ‘normally’ and be done with it. But if it concerns women, that’s where you step back.”
Note: This text has been translated from the original Turkish version titled Normal doğumu siz yapın beyler!, published in BirGün newspaper on April 15, 2025.
