Hi,

I´m working on a thesys about turkish proverbs about women, but I can´t understand the meaning of this one. 

Kadýn malý hamam tokmaðýdýr

If I translated it correctly it should be somethig like hte woman´s possessions are like the bathroom´s handle. Any ideas about the meanong?

Thanks

Alberto

"Hamam tokmagi" is a smaller version of a cricket bat, a wooden tool that ladies used to wash (beat)   dirty clothes with in a hamam. The sight of a lady beating dirty clothes with a "hamam tokmagi", forcing them to cleanliness is a pretty vigorous sight, which can make sensitive souls sorry for the poor clothes.

Your proverb compares the status of a man who has to survive feeding up on a lady´s worldly psosessions (money),  to the undignified status of the dirty clothes being beaten to cleanliness; meaning that dependance on financial means of a lady to survive  is an equally  undignified status (punisment) for any honorable man.

IT IS NOT A VERy COMMONLY KNOWN PROVERB.  PLS LET ME KNOW WHERE YOU PICKED IT UP FROM.

This is an archaic proverb and  it is probably regional and has a few variations .

Tokmak as in kapý tokmaðý is unmistakably a door knocker.  That a man is destined to be nagged by his wife if he relies on her wealth is explained with the metaphors : bathroom (Hamam) door and its knocker. A Bathroom door is the man who is often beaten by a knocker which is the tongue of his wife.

Many of these proverbs are from the days when Turkey had a patriarchal society remnants of which still linger on in certain quarters. Therefore, most such proverbs can be interpreted as derogatory and sexist.