Turkish President: Feminists Don’t Accept Motherhood And ‘Women Not Equal’ To Men

Women not equal to men, according to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan who delivered a speech at the Women and Justice Summit hosted by the Women and Democracy Association in Istanbul, on Monday. His comments addressing women’s freedoms and rights violated Turkish laws, Turkey’s constitution, and international violence against women.

Erdogan said this about the equality of women.

“Equality is turning the victim into an oppressor by force or vice versa. What women need is to be able to be equivalent, rather than equal.”

Turkey’s president had this to say in reference to women not equal and a comparison to nature.

“You cannot bring women and men into equal positions; that is against nature because their nature is different. For example, in work life, you cannot impose the same conditions on a pregnant woman as a man. You cannot tell women to go out and dig the soil because this is against their delicate nature. You can’t get a woman to work in every job that a man does, like they did in communist regimes in the past.”

Erdogan may have a point here. Maybe his comments deal with semantics rather than his claim that women are not equal to men.

He staged a strong attack on feminism and feminists claiming they reject the concept of motherhood, according to Hürriyet Daily News.

He added comments pertaining to feminism and motherhood.

“Our religion [Islam] has defined a position for women [in society]: Motherhood. Some people can understand this, while others can’t. You cannot explain this to feminists because they don’t accept the concept of motherhood.”

This was not the first time the Turkish leader publically praised motherhood.

In 2008, he said this about the celebration of Mother’s Day, designating just one day in recognition of motherhood is an insult to mothers according to Erdogan.

“In our beliefs, one kisses the feet of mothers. Paradise is next to the mother’s feet. That’s how we approach them.”

Al Aribiya News reports about Erdogan’s commenting, women not equal to men. They say his disruptive expressions helped him to win the support of the country’s pious Anatolian heartlands. It helped him lock in a victory in the first popular election for head of state in August.

The president explains more about his view of motherhood and feminists.

“Our religion gave woman a station. What station is this? The station of motherhood… Motherhood is something different and is the most unobtainable, the highest station. There are those who understand this, those who don’t. You can’t tell this to feminists, because they do not accept motherhood. They have no such concerns.”

Turkey has been trying to join the European Union for more than ten years. There are low numbers of women in the workforce, which is slowing down Turkish economic development. The European Union has been urging Turkey to do more to improve gender equality.

Gonul Karahanoglu, president of women’s rights group KA.DER commented about the president’s speech to Al Aribiya News.

“We know women are not physiologically equal. But equality is about having equal rights, equal status and equal opportunities. He defines women only as mothers. It is discriminating against all the women who don’t have children. He always says the same things.”

In a free society, contrary to Erdogan’s thoughts on women’s rights and freedoms, perhaps you can tell a ‘women to go out and dig the soil’ if she so pleases, if you are her subordinate and she is being paid to do this type of work. In addition, it’s quite probable to be able to ‘get a woman to work in every job that a man does’ in a free and democratic nation. Nevertheless, Erdogan has raised some eyebrows and stirred up some emotions with his recent comments.

[Photo courtesy of EPA]